Waterford woman to be sentenced over €20,000 horse-buying scam
Catherine O’Brien at Waterford Circuit Court. Photo: Dan Linehan
A convicted fraudster has applied to have her sentencing moved to this week, only a month after claiming to be "medically unfit" to attend court.
Catherine O'Brien, of An Grianan, Ballinroad, Dungarvan, Co Waterford, dishonestly induced John Blake into paying her €20,000 to purchase a horse, €1,100 for insurance and €984 to transport the horse from France to Ireland. She was found guilty after a three-week long trial in July 2025. She is currently in custody at Limerick Prison.
She was due to be sentenced in November but was deemed "medically unfit" to attend, hence pushing her sentencing date back to January 2026.
However, last week her legal team requested that her date be brought forward by a month.
Defending counsel Ronan O'Carroll BL, acting under the instruction of solicitor Ciaran Mulholland, claimed that "an issue with the Prison Service" meant that she couldn't be produced by video-link for her scheduled sentencing.
Judge Eugene O'Kelly expressed "real concern" about sentencing O'Brien in absentia, referring to a case in a Wexford court where, in 2021, she was convicted in absentia on 34 counts of animal cruelty. The conviction was quashed by order certiorari in 2023 due to her being "unable to attend her initial trial because she was in hospital".
O'Brien is due to be sentenced this Wednesday, December 10.
