LAST year, the Irish courts dealt with 56 rape cases. Judge Paul Carney presided over the vast majority of them. The vast majority ended in convictions. And most of the convictions resulted in jail terms of five to 10 years. So why the fuss?

Because inconsistent - and sometimes baffling - sentencing prevails. The Sunday Tribune has listed some of the rape cases dealt with in the courts from January 2006 to date.

Notable anomalies are evident in the case last week of Mary Shannon, whose rapist walked free from court a day after the rapist of a 75-year-old woman was sentenced to 15 years. More subtle contradictions are evident in other cases. In February this year, a 75-year-old grandfather who raped his three granddaughters over a five-year period was sentenced to five years in prison, while a man who raped a woman on her way to work was given 11 years.

In another case, a man convicted of rape and manslaughter (following an overturned murder charge) was given an eight-year sentence - six suspended - while another man who raped a woman in his flat was given 16 years.

March 2007 A 20-year-old bricklayer is given a threeyear sentence for breaking into a woman's house and raping her when she was asleep.

Plea: Not guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: three years, three years suspended A Tipperary man with 60 previous convictions is sentenced to 15 years in prison for rape of a 75-year-old woman.

Plea: Not guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: 15 years February 2007 A 75-year-old Donegal grandfather who paid his three granddaughters "significant sums of money" to have sex with him on a regular basis was jailed for five years. Patrick Murray told the girls, who were between nine and 16 at the time, that sexual intercourse "was good for his health". He was using Viagra during the years he had sex with the victims and paid them between IR�40 and IR�60 at the time.

The judge said the crimes could "scarcely be more serious". Normally the crime would merit not less than 12 years, but because of Murray's guilty plea and his age, that was reduced to five.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: five years A Dublin man with 23 previous convictions is jailed for nine years for raping a 28-year-old prostitute in a disused railway carriage at Heuston Station.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: nine years A Congo-born man is sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping a 14-year-old girl on four occasions, after bringing her into the country on the pretext of looking after his children.

Plea: Not guilty Judge: Barry White Sentence: 15 years, two suspended A west-Dublin alcoholic who raped his then partner's daughter over a five-year period is given an eight-year sentence.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: eight years January 2007 A Dublin man is jailed for 10 years for rape of a 24-year-old woman. Had been convicted of rape in the past, and served time.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: 10 years Man jailed for nine years for rape of 20-yearold Limerick woman. Currently serving seven-year sentence for heroin possession.

Plea: Not guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: nine years November 2006 Dublin man jailed for nine years for rapes and sexual assaults on a brother and sister over a number of years. Final year suspended.

Plea: Guilty to 18 out of 281 sample charges, including oral rape, rape and sexual assault Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: nine years, one suspended October 2006 A Kenmare man is sentenced to 10 years in prison for 24 counts of sexual offences against six children.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Carroll Moran Sentence: 10 years, four suspended A Donegal priest is jailed for seven years for the rape of a 13-year-old girl in a church sacristy over 20 years ago.

Plea: Not guilty Judge: Philip O'Sullivan Sentence: seven years A 26-year-old building worker who raped a Latvian woman while she was on her way to work at 8am is given 11 years in prison.

Plea: Not guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: 11 years July 2006 A Waterford man is sentenced to eight years in prison for the rape of a 14-year-old girl.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: eight years June 2006 A Latvian man who raped an American student on St Valentine's night in 2004 is jailed for seven years.

Plea: Not guilty Judge: Barry White Sentence: seven years A 44-year-old Englishman is jailed for nine years for anally raping a Limerick woman and assaulting her causing her harm.

Plea: Not guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: nine years May 2006 A Carlow man who raped and sexually assaulted his two nieces and nephew is given eight years in prison. The man anally raped his eight-year-old niece in his house, and gave her Euro5 afterwards. He would bring his younger niece to McDonalds and rape and anally rape her there. The judge in the case said the offences could scarcely be more grave and that there was an element of grooming involved as well as a breach of trust.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: eight years, 18 months suspended A 15-year-old Wicklow boy who raped a 14-year-old girl after a teenage disco is jailed for five years.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: five years A 26-year-old Kildare man is jailed for eight years for raping a then-teenage girl, his sister's best friend, in a GAA grounds in 2004.

Plea: Innocent.

Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: eight years April 2006 A Wexford man who raped and sexually assaulted his sister over a five-year period in his early teens is jailed for five years.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: five years, one suspended A 46-year-old man is jailed for 16 years for raping a woman following a party in his flat in Co Louth.

Plea: Not guilty but changed to guilty during the trial Judge: Henry Abbott Sentence: 16 years.

A jury finds a 30-year-old Lithuanian man not guilty of the rape and oral rape of a woman in Co Westmeath in 2004.

An 18-year-old Limerick man who raped a 49-year-old Lithuanian woman is sentenced to seven years in prison.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: seven years, one suspended An 18-year-old Dublin man is jailed for five years for sexually assaulting a 14year-old girl.

Plea: Not guilty Judge: Con Murphy Sentence: five years A 72-year-old Monaghan man is jailed for 15 months for sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

Plea: Guilty Sentence: 15 months March 2006 A Co Laois man who repeatedly raped his daughter over a 10-year period is sentenced to life imprisonment. The 47-yearold was charged with 32 counts of rape, oral rape and sexual assault of his daughter, starting when she was seven years old Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: Life to be served consecutive to an existing 20-year-sentence A Cork man is given eight years for the rape and manslaughter of beautician Rachel Kiely in 2000. The judge said that Ian Horgan had spent four years in custody and that this was in effect the equivalent of a six-year sentence. As a result, he suspended the last six years of the term, acknowledging that the Kielys would not be pleased with the sentence.

Plea: Guilty to manslaughter. Not guilty of rape and murder Judge: Barry White Sentence: eight years, six suspended A teenager who threatened to kill a woman while subjecting her to oral rape and attempted rape is sent to Trinity House detention centre for three years.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: three years at Trinity House February 2006 A 55-year-old Donegal man is cleared of raping and sexually assaulting a female neighbour over a six-year period.

A father-of-two who kidnapped a Spanish au pair, raped her and made her swallow her own faeces is jailed for 15 years.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: 15 years, 18 months suspended January 2006 A Sligo man is jailed for six years for the rape of his wife, weeks after she gave birth to their child.

Plea: Not guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: six years A Donegal man convicted of raping a sales representative in a hotel room is given a five-year jail sentence.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Philip O'Sullivan Sentence: five years, four suspended A Wicklow man is jailed for 11 years for the rape, oral rape, anal rape and sexual assault of a young female neighbour over a prolonged period, starting when she was seven.

Plea: Guilty Judge: Paul Carney Sentence: 11 years, 18 months suspended The earlier NY case used by Carney to justify the suspended threeyear sentence on Adam Keane THEman in this case was 20 years old at the time of the offence. On the night of 22 September 2000 he ended up at a house party in the early hours of the morning.

There, he met the victim, one of the occupants of the "at.

They had a conversation, and started kissing on a bed in one of the bedrooms. In very unclear and disorganised circumstances, they ended up sharing a bed in an extremely small bedroom with two beds.

The man never suggested that there was consent to sexual intercourse at any time.

After kissing, the woman fell asleep. At that point, the man raped her and anally raped her. She woke up with a jolt, realised what was happening, became shocked and distressed and told him to go home.

The man wrote a note saying, "Sorry to offend but my fault whatever I did, " before leaving the "at.

The man immediately confessed his crime to garda� and expressed remorse for what he had done. He refused the offer of an identity parade because he did not want to cause more trauma for the victim.

Judge Paul Carney sentenced him to three years in prison, with nine months suspended. The Court of Criminal Appeal found that Carney had erred in principle by failing to even consider that a non-custodial sentence could be imposed in a rape trial.

Carney made reference to this decision a number of times during unconnected court cases.