A Dublin man has been found guilty of the murder of Shane Geoghegan in Limerick in 2008.
Mr Geoghegan (28), captain of his rugby team at Garryowen, was shot dead near his home in a case of mistaken identity on November 9th, 2008.
Barry Doyle (26), a father of three, Portland Row, Dublin, pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to his murder at Clonmore, Kilteragh, Dooradoyle in Limerick.
The jurors deliberated for an hour and a half yesterday before being sent home for the night and resuming today. They returned a unanimous verdict this afternoon after deliberating for just over four hours.
Doyle, a former bricklayer, admitted shooting Mr Geoghegan in videotaped Garda interviews but argued during his trial that he had been induced into confessing.
Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan handed Doyle the mandatory life sentence.
The trial heard Mr Geoghegan had captained Garryowen in a match on Saturday, November 8th. Afterward he visited a friend a short walk from the home he shared with his girlfriend, Jenna Barry, who gave evidence early in the trial.
A postmortem showed Mr Geoghegan died from gunshot injuries to his head and trunk. He suffered five gunshots in total; one of the head wounds would have been instantly fatal. He had internal injuries to his brain, right lung, ribs and pelvis.
The jury heard that three bullets were recovered from Mr Geoghegan’s body and a number of discharged and undischarged cartridge cases were found at the crime scene. Their pattern indicated that the shooter was moving towards Mr Geoghegan as he was firing the gun, the court was told.
Ballistics experts testified that a 9mm semi-automatic Glock gun was used. It was never recovered.
The court heard that Doyle moved from Dublin to Limerick in June 2008. He left Ireland shortly after the murder but returned around Christmas that year. He was arrested in February 2009 and interviewed 23 times.