The Court of Criminal Appeal has rejected an appeal by five Limerick men convicted of the murder of crime boss Kieran Keane and the attempted murder of his nephew, Owen Treacy.
The men are Desmond Dundon (23), Hyde Road; David Stanners (34), Pineview Gardens, Moyross; James McCarthy (27), Delmege Park, Moyross; Christopher Costelloe (23), Moylish Avenue, Ballynanty Beg and Anthony McCarthy (24), Fairgreen, Garryowen.
Lawyers for the five men argued that their convictions were not safe on several grounds, including that media coverage had influenced the jury, that they had not been fully furnished with all relevant documentation, and that the jury had not been correctly charged by the trial judge.
The three-judge Court of Criminal Appeal, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, presiding, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne and Mr Justice Brian McGovern, today rejected their appeal on all grounds.
Two 105-page judgments were hurled across the courtroom at the judges today after they dismissed the appeal. There was also spitting and verbal abuse the judges, lawyers and journalists.
The five were found guilty in December 2003 of the murder of Keane at Drombana, Limerick, in January 2003. They were also convicted of the attempted murder of Mr Treacy and of falsely imprisoning the two men.
In addition to the life sentences, Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court sentenced each of them to concurrent terms of 15 years imprisonment for the attempted murder of Mr Treacy and seven years for the false imprisonment charges.
The trial had heard that Keane (36), Garryowen, Limerick, had his hands tied behind his back and was shot once in the head in an execution-style killing. There was also evidence that he was tortured at or before the time of death. Mr Treacy (34), St Mary's Park, Limerick, was stabbed 17 times.