Case No. 2096Professional misconduct (alleged concealment of assets during bankruptcy, aiding and abetting) · Co. Dublin
Dublin solicitor faces disciplinary inquiry over alleged concealment of €10,000 during bankruptcy
A Dublin solicitor and personal insolvency practitioner, Anthony Joyce, is accused of helping a couple conceal €10,000 from the official administering their bankruptcy. The couple, William and Mary Burke of Portumna, Co Galway, are also named in the proceedings. The case is before a three-member Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, with an opening hearing held in January 2025. When the case resumed on 12 March 2025, no evidence was heard and the tribunal decided to proceed with the inquiry, adjourning the hearing to 23 April. Mr Joyce's legal team indicated he would seek judicial review in the High Court.
- Reported13 Mar
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court12 Mar
2 reports - Verdict
- Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Anthony Joyce, a solicitor and personal insolvency practitioner at Anthony Joyce & Co Solicitors, The Liberties, Dublin 8, is accused of helping a couple conceal €10,000 from the official administering their bankruptcy.
- Mr Joyce's case is that the €10,000 constituted legal fees which he returned later out of sympathy.
- Where
- The couple involved is William and Mary Burke, of Portumna, Co Galway.
- When
- The opening hearing took place in January 2025 and the case resumed on 12 March 2025.
- Charges
- The Legal Services Regulatory Authority alleged the conduct involved the commissioning of a criminal offence under the Bankruptcy Act and sought to amend the allegation to remove a reference to the commission of a felony or misdemeanour.
- In court
- The case is before a three-member Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.
- The tribunal decided to proceed with the inquiry and adjourned the hearing to 23 April 2025.
- Other details
- No evidence was heard when the case resumed on 12 March 2025.
- Mr Joyce's legal team indicated he would seek judicial review in the High Court.
43 statements extracted from the articles
- whatA Romanian man and 11 Romanian women, one eight months pregnant, were detained in a courtroom at the Four Courts for two hours. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe squatters were in a dangerous building that is a serious fire risk. (irishtimes.com)
- whatWorkmen attempting to enter the property were met by angry squatters, some producing knives. (irishtimes.com)
- whatAnthony Joyce is a solicitor at Anthony Joyce & Co Solicitors, Oliver Bond Street, The Liberties, Dublin 8 (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe is a personal insolvency practitioner (irishtimes.com)
- whatHe is accused of helping a couple conceal €10,000 from the official administering their bankruptcy (irishtimes.com)
- whatNo evidence was heard on Wednesday when the case resumed (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe opening hearing took place in January (irishtimes.com)
- whatMr Joyce's case is that the €10,000 constituted legal fees which he returned later out of sympathy (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe family received tip-offs that Jón Jónsson may have been murdered by a known violent criminal sent to kill another man (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe notes said the body was between trees and near a body of water (irishtimes.com)
- whatA man claimed to have killed Jón Jónsson, having intended to murder someone else (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe squatters occupy 10 flats at 9 Belvedere Place, Dublin. (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe couple is William and Mary Burke, of Portumna, Co Galway (irishtimes.com)
- whenJón Jónsson vanished on 9 February 2019 after leaving the Bonnington Hotel on Swords Road, north Dublin (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe alleged hitman arrived in Dublin about a week before Jón Jónsson (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí will have to arrest the remaining 26 at a Dublin flats complex and bring them before the court on Thursday. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí have enlisted the help of Europol in the investigation (irishtimes.com)
- investigationInvestigators intend to use Europol to co-ordinate with Icelandic police and chase down new leads (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí are to meet Icelandic colleagues at Europol HQ in The Hague in the coming weeks (irishtimes.com)
- investigationDespite family requests, gardaí have not upgraded the case to a formal murder investigation (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí searched an area of Santry Demesne last year but found nothing of evidential value (irishtimes.com)
- chargeThe ISI alleged the conduct involved the commissioning of a criminal offence under the Bankruptcy Act (irishtimes.com)
- chargeThe authority wanted to amend the allegation, removing a reference to the commission of a felony or misdemeanour (irishtimes.com)
- courtA judge committed 27 Romanian squatters to prison for contempt of court. (irishtimes.com)
- courtOnly one of the 27 had been legally summoned to appear in court. (irishtimes.com)
- courtJudge Roderick Maguire directed the jailing of the 27 named squatters for contempt. (irishtimes.com)
- courtMel Kilrane has been fined by the District Court for breaching fire regulations. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe proceedings were adjourned until Thursday morning. (irishtimes.com)
- courtOne woman properly before the court was told she would not be sent to prison on the undertaking to vacate overnight and appear again. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe case is before a three-member Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe tribunal decided to proceed with the inquiry (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe hearing was adjourned to 23 April (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe landlord is retired solicitor Mel Kilrane. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThere were many children among the squatters. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMembers of the Jónsson family travelled to Ireland and met two senior gardaí who briefed them (irishtimes.com)
- otherGardaí conceded that communications between Irish and Icelandic police could have been better (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe case received renewed public attention due to a podcast series by RTÉ and RÚV (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe had come to Ireland with his fiancée for a poker tournament and short holiday (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe was aged 41 at the time he vanished (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe was recorded by a security camera 200m away passing the entrance to a nursing home next to the hotel (irishtimes.com)
- otherHe had never been to Ireland before, had no friends or family there and had never gone missing before (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe suspect is not from Ireland or Iceland and is considered a dangerous criminal with convictions for drugs and extreme violence (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 13 Mar2025Gardaí enlist Europol to assist in case of missing Icelandic man Jón Jónsson
Gardaí enlisted Europol; family met with two senior gardaí in Ireland; new tip-offs about a hitman contracted by an eastern European criminal organisation; two anonymous messages placed remains in Santry Demesne; case not yet upgraded to murder investigation; 270+ lines of enquiry created.
victim, Jón Jónsson, 41, male, Icelandic, non-irishJón Jónssonsuspect, male, non-irish (judged from name) - 13 Mar2025Dublin solicitor accused of helping couple hide cash during bankruptcy to take court challenge
Reports the resumption of the disciplinary hearing, legal arguments about fair procedures and the Burkes' right to be notified, the authority's attempt to amend the allegation, and the solicitor's intention to seek judicial review in the High Court.
accused, Anthony Joyce, male, named, irish (judged from name)Anthony Joyceaccused, male, irish (judged from name)accused, Mary Burke, female, named, irish (judged from name)Mary Burke - 12 Mar2025Eleven people, including pregnant woman, are held in courtroom for hours due to mix-up in squatters case
Reports on the mix-up in the squatters contempt case where 11 people were held in court for two hours; only one of the 27 had been legally summoned; proceedings adjourned to Thursday.
accused, Romanian, non-irishvictim, Mel Kilrane, irish (judged from name)Mel Kilrane