Brothers not guilty of Dublin murder but convicted of lesser offences

Two brothers have been cleared of murder but found guilty of lesser offences by a unanimous jury verdict after they attacked a 55-year-old man who died two weeks later.

The Central Criminal Court jury, which had deliberated for 14 hours, on Tuesday evening returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty of murder for Ian Connaghan (34) and Daniel Connaghan (43).

However, the jury of seven men and five women found Ian Connaghan guilty of manslaughter and Daniel Connaghan guilty of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Michael ‘Mick’ Mulvey in 2019.

The brothers, both of Ashington Rise, Navan Road, Cabra, Dublin 7, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Mulvey on the Navan Road, close to the Phoenix Park.

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‘Severe beating’

It was the State’s case that Ian Connaghan attacked Mr Mulvey near The Halfway House Pub and left him on the ground. Mr Mulvey was subsequently given “a severe beating” at a roundabout by Ian and Daniel Connaghan.

The prosecution contended that the injuries sustained by Mr Mulvey substantially contributed to his death but were not the sole cause.

However, counsel for Ian Connaghan, Garnet Orange SC, told the jury that Mr Mulvey was a man who was not “in good condition health wise” and that after the assault, he had gone back to the pub and spent the night drinking.

Counsel put it to the jury that there was “no serious injury” involved and that it was implausible that the death of Mr Mulvey 13 days later was a “natural and probable conclusion”.

The jury heard that State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers found that Mr Mulvey’s right ribs had been fractured, that there was 800ml of blood in his lungs and there was air escaping into the chest cavity. Her view was that his cause of death was blunt force trauma to the chest with ischemic heart disease as a contributory factor.

However, the defence obtained a report from Prof Jack Crane, who found that the cause of death was ischemic heart disease.

The Director of Public Prosecutions also sought an opinion from UK pathologist Dr Stuart Hamilton, who said that in his view Mr Mulvey had ischemic heart disease but would not have died without the rib fractures.

Requisite intent

In Ian Connaghan’s case, the jury was satisfied that his actions caused Mr Mulvey’s death but were not satisfied that he had the requisite intent for murder.

Mr Mulvey, a builder, died on November 27th, 2019, almost two weeks after he suffered injuries during the beating. The brothers had also pleaded not guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Mr Mulvey at the Navan Road on November 14th, 2019, and had further pleaded not guilty to assault causing harm to Mr Mulvey on the same occasion.

No verdict was recorded in relation to Ian Connaghan regarding the two assault charges, with a similar no verdict recorded for Daniel Connaghan for the charge of assault causing harm.

Trial judge Mr Justice Paul Burns thanked the jury for their service and excused them from further duty for seven years.

Mr Justice Burns granted continuing bail to Daniel Connaghan on account of the care he provides to his child and ordered that a probation report be prepared.

No application for bail was made by lawyers for Ian Connaghan. The judge remanded him in custody and adjourned both matters to November 6th for the preparation of victim impact statements from Mr Mulvey’s family.