'IT'S A SCANDAL - IT STINKS': The sickening reason why privileged thug Bill Chawke may not even bother to lodge an appeal after his sister was allowed to walk free from jail last week

By VALERIE HANLEY and JOHN DRENNAN Published: 22:23, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 22:23, 15 August 2026 The jailed son of millionaire publican Charlie Chawke has just days to lodge an appeal against his sentence – but legal sources this weekend said it is likely he will join his sister and be freed from prison early. Bill Chawke has until this week to appeal the 30-month sentence, with 12 months suspended, he received last month after he pleaded guilty to a vicious and unprovoked attack on two men at the Dunraven Arms Hotel in Adare, Co. Limerick. But sources said chronic overcrowding in our jails means he is likely to be released well before his sentence is completed. This week, it emerged his sister Alison – who was given a 26-month sentence, also with 12 suspended, for the same assault – was freed after just one month of her year-long prison term, sparking a political controversy. The authorities came under criticism over the ‘revolving door’ system of our prisons amid claims Ms Chawke, who comes from a wealthy background, was given preferential treatment. However, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned that Ms Chawke was just one of 25 female inmates released early from Limerick Prison on Tuesday this week. A senior legal source said: ‘It’s a scandal, it absolutely stinks. But it’s nothing to do with her [Chawke]; It’s the system.  'It’s how it is. Aside from if you are convicted with sex offences, drugs or a very violent assault, people are being jailed and getting out on the same day.’ They added: ‘It can take six, nine or 12 months for an appeal to come before the Court of Appeal, so with quarter remission for good behaviour, someone like Bill Chawke might be better off keeping the head down than lodging an appeal before the Court of Appeal because the sentence you might get at the Court of Appeal will not be less, but it could be more. Alison Chawke was given a 26-month sentence, also with 12 suspended, for the same assault as her brother ‘If you appeal, that can affect where the prison authorities may house you and what programmes you may get when you are released.  Bill Chawke, son of prominent publican Charlie Chawke, pleaded guilty to assaulting two men at a prestigious hotel in Adare, Co Limerick 'He may have come to the conclusion that he would get out quicker as an early release prisoner than if he appealed the sentence before the Court of Appeal.’ Despite the construction of more prison spaces being listed as a priority in the Programme for Government, figures provided by Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan’s department reveal the number of new cells is falling sharply as the jail population rises. Publican Charlie Chawke with his children Bill and Alison back in 2019 A Department spokesman told the MoS: ‘The Irish Prison Service (IPS) must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the courts and has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time. ‘Since 2024, 292 spaces have been constructed across the Prison Estate, with 126 constructed in 2024, 106 constructed in 2025 and 60 constructed so far in 2026. ‘A further five spaces will be constructed this year, and 70 in 2027.’ As of Friday, there were 5,594 inmates in the country’s prisons, of whom 326 were sleeping on mattresses. Another 515 prisoners were recorded as being on temporary release. Mr O’Callaghan is also coming under growing pressure from Coalition colleagues to deliver more prison spaces. One Fine Gael minister said last night: ‘We need to keep our foot on the head of the organised crime serpent. We need a rapid expansion of our prison infrastructure.’ Another Fine Gael source added: ‘There is now an urgency about prison spaces. It needs to be recognised that organised crime represents a threat to the State that is of a similar scale to the Provisional IRA. Like the IRA and the INLA, this is going to be an ongoing war.’ A month before the siblings’ sentencing, Bill Chawke hosted a lavish wedding ceremony at a five-star Spanish resort to celebrate his marriage to a Dublin doctor. The 32-year-old groom married Sarah McKenna at Trinity College Chapel in Dublin last March.  But three months later, the couple exchanged vows for a second time at an old Roman amphitheatre on the grounds of the Anantara Villa Padierna Palace Benahavís Resort in Marbella. His sister Alison, a mother of three, served as a witness on the day. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.