Gun used to kill man was decommissioned by museum, court told

A gun used to kill a man in Dublin had been decommissioned by a British museum, the Central Criminal Court heard today.

Detective Garda Janette O’Neill inspected the Webley & Scott revolver after it was found in a car close to where Seamus ‘Shay’ O’Byrne was shot dead on March 13th, 2009 at Tymon Park North, Tallaght.

Gary Flynn (31), of Rossfield Drive in Tallaght has pleaded not guilty to Mr O’Byrne’s murder.

Det Gda O’Neill told prosecuting counsel Alex Owens SC that the gun had a stamp from the Birmingham Proof House, a museum that decommissions guns for display or for private owners who want to keep the weapons as ornaments.

She said somebody had replaced the firing arm and pulled out a substance used to fill the barrel, making the gun usable again.

Ms O’Neill also found five spent cartridges in the revolver. She said the bullets that had been contained in those cartridges were of a different caliber to the gun’s design.

Ms O'Neill found the gun in a car belonging to Mr O'Byrne and his partner Sharon Rattigan, which was parked outside their home.

Ms Rattigan has previously given evidence that she threw the gun into the car after wrestling it from the gunman, who then ran away.

The trial continues before Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of nine men and three women this afternoon.