Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Special Criminal Court Judgment in DPP V Dundon
Special Criminal Court Judgment in DPP V Dundon
Kearns P.
O’Hagan J.
Hamill J.
[SCC 9/2012]
BETWEEN:
PROSECUTIONS
PROSECUTOR
AND
JOHN DUNDON
ACCUSED
The accused pleaded “not guilty” upon his arraignment before this Court
Geoghegan was a case of mistaken identity in that the intended target was
John “Pitchfork” McNamara, a man who lived four doors away from Mr.
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the killing and that he ordered and directed the murder of John
November, 2008.
PRELIMINARY MATTERS
this Court on 15th May, 2013 to postpone the trial having regard to the
documents and CCTV footage, and the timing of the delivery of part of it.
by way of judicial review was brought in the High Court to quash that
decision. By ruling delivered on 31st May, 3013, the High Court declined
to grant the relief sought. From that decision an appeal was brought to
delivered by Denham C.J. on 25th June, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled as
follows:-
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of the notice party to disclose to the solicitor for the appellant the
identified as relevant.
of the court was advised by Messrs. Madden & Finucane, solicitors for
the accused, that he, Mr. Dundon, no longer wished them to act for him,
nor did he want counsel to act for him, but instead he wished to conduct
confirmed in a follow-up letter the next day. On 2nd July, 2013 counsel
then invited the accused to confirm that these were his wishes and that
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what had been said on his behalf was accurate. Specifically he was
asked:-
Q. “Do you confirm the accuracy of what’s being said? That you
A. “Yes”
His legal team were then permitted to come off record following
which the accused was arraigned and pleaded not guilty. However,
following his arraignment the accused said what he in fact wanted was a
different legal team. Counsel for the prosecution indicated that they were
ready to proceed and that all the requirements of the Supreme Court had
been fully complied with, that is to say, that there had been full disclosure
defence, and the same had been given not only to Messrs. Madden &
that he wished to sack his lawyers, that material was also sent to Mr.
Dundon.
The Court indicated that it would commence the trial later in the day
after lunch. However, following the lunch break, the Court heard
evidence from a prison officer that John Dundon had sustained a head
injury when falling in his cell, a cell which he was at the time sharing
Dundon to hospital for further medical checks. The Court deferred the
morning, 3rd July, to hear medical evidence of the nature of the injury and
On 3rd July, Mr. Brendan Nix, S.C. and Mr. Laurence Goucher,
S.C., indicated that essentially the case was a fairly simple one, that his
three main witnesses were under threat and that the prosecution was
extremely anxious to start the case. However, the Court decided it would
do no more at that stage than permit the opening of the case by Mr.
O’Connell and would thereafter adjourn the case until the following
week.
found two small wounds to the scalp at the back of John Dundon’s head,
one measuring approximately one centimetre and the other less than half
lifted Mr. Dundon’s hands above his head they dropped in an unusual
manner for someone who might have been unconscious. His sugar levels
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were normal, his pulse rate was normal, his respiratory rate was normal,
and power as the patient was not co-operating with the assessment. His
for any coma had been found. A CT scan of the brain was normal. An
ECG was normal. Kidney function was normal, heart enzymes were
glue to close them. He found no medical reason why Mr. Dundon could
The trial was adjourned following the opening statement until 8th July,
2013.
On 8th July, 2013 Mr. O’Connell advised the Court that there was a
Collins. She was in hospital and likely to remain there for some time due
circumstances of this case, that there was no suggestion that the witness’s
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condition from which she had made a good recovery when the trial
THE EVIDENCE
The first of these was a general location map of Limerick City and
the Clonmore Estate where Mr. Geoghegan had been shot, a site on the
Mill Road in Rossbrien where a burnt out people carrier vehicle was later
carrier had been parked for some weeks prior to the murder. The map
also indicated, on the north side of the river, the location of the Limerick
found and just off the kerb a further discharged cartridge case was found.
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bullet was found inside house no. 38. No. 38 is a semi-detached house
was found in that laneway and five further discharged cartridges were
found at the back of that house. She also demonstrated a location map of
a small part of the city centre area of Limerick, including Cruise’s Street,
and also the locations of various CCTV cameras in that vicinity. The
witness also located Finnegan’s Bar to the east of Limerick City just off
communication cell sites, one at ESB, Annacotty and the other at ESB,
Cottage, the home of Mr. T.J. McNamara and the Old Mungret
graveyard.
street outside no. 38, Clonmore and also the scene at the back of the
house where the remains of Shane Geoghegan were found. He also took
Ms. Jenna Barry was Shane Geoghegan’s partner and lived with
him at no. 2 Clonmore. She got home from visiting friends at around
11.00pm that evening. She called over the see Shane who was watching
nearby 39, Ardbracken. She dropped over to see them and then went off
home to watch the DVD. He sent a text back a minute later at 12.54 to
say he would be home shortly. Some minutes later she heard two loud
bangs outside the front. She opened the front door and saw a young man
with his hood up running to her right where a car was parked. He
someone say “drive, drive”. The car looked like a spacewagon to her and
had a sliding door. It was dark in colour. The engine was running and
the wheels were screeching. The man who had been running towards it
hopped into the side and the spacewagon sped off. She then rang 999 and
sent Shane a text to say she thought there had been a shooting up the
road.
where he received a 999 call at 1.06am from a man who informed him he
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had heard gun shots coming from the rere of a house in the Clonmore
Estate.
Dr. Tapadziva Mondiwanza told the Court that she lived at no. 42
Glendara which is back to back with no. 38 Clonmore. She heard two or
three shots, then some shouting and then about four shots in quick
succession. She went to the back bedroom of her house and saw a dark
coloured spacewagon facing towards the exit from the estate. It had its
house. He heard shots and went to the front bedroom from which he saw
the people carrier. He got into the front passenger seat and the vehicle
question he was on duty in a patrol car with Garda Adrian Egan and, on
observing a hole in the front sitting room window of no. 38, made his
way round to the rere of the house where he found Mr. Geoghegan
slumped against the back patio door. He was wearing a woolly hat, a
that date and went to the rere of no. 38 Clonmore where he found a body
4.27am.
gun shot injuries to the head and trunk. Her impression from the different
trajectories of the paths of the bullets across and through the body
Counsel for the accused accepted that all aspects of the scene of the
Mr. Eamon Hehir was returning home along the Mill Road in
A statement from Ms. Eilish McGee of Rossbrien was read into the
record. She went to bed shortly before midnight on 8th November, 2008
and heard a loud bang. She looked out of her window and saw something
on fire about 100 yards away from the front of her house. Around this
time a car came down the road from the direction of Fitzgerald’s. The car
was going in the direction of the fire towards the Rossbrien Road.
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indicating that the gun used was a Glock semi-automatic pistol. The
distribution and ejection pattern of the cartridges would indicate that the
recovered and found. He was satisfied that all shots were discharged
the VIN plate from the front dashboard area which read as follows:- VF8
(A) April Collins, the main prosecution witness, said she was born on
22nd April, 1987 and grew up in Weston in Limerick. She said she knew
the Dundon family and had been going out with John Dundon’s brother,
Ger Dundon, for 10 years. She first met him when she was 15 and they
had three children together. She lived with Ger Dundon at 84, Hyde
Road. Ger Dundon had gone to prison in February 2011 and her
relationship with him had broken down. She remembered the time when
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Shane Geoghegan was murdered in Limerick. She said she was in John
Dundon’s house the night before the murder and there was a
conversation. She was there, John Dundon’s girlfriend Ciara Killeen was
there, the kids were there and Nathan Killeen was there. Also present
were John Dundon, Ger Dundon, Lika Casey and Barry Doyle. They
were all in the sitting room. John started talking, saying he had John
McNamara’s whereabouts sussed out over the last two days. He was
explaining to Barry Doyle what he looked like and the times of his
coming and going. He said that he had a gun in the car ready and that
Dundon said “I do, the gun and car is ready, it just needs to be done”. He
said to Barry Doyle “the gun is there – you kill him” and he then said to
Nathan and Lika “and one of ye are driving, and that’s that”.
This conversation took place the night before the murder and took
place in John Dundon’s house, where he lived with his girlfriend Ciara
Killeen and his kids and Barry. She knew Barry Doyle. She had met him
in Spain when staying there with her partner Ger Dundon. After the
conversation, and on foot of something said to her, she and Ger Dundon
stayed in the Strand Hotel that night with their two sons. She identified
her laser card and her bank account statement showing the relevant
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debits. The next morning they left and went back up to 84, Hyde Road.
They just did their “normal routine and stuff, bringing kids to school and
whatever”. They checked back in then the next day and stayed another
night. On the following morning, the 9th, herself, Ger and the two kids
went to Finnegan’s pub out beyond Annacotty after Ger had received a
phone call to meet him there. This phone call came at about 6.30am. She
drove to Finnegan’s from the hotel. John Dundon and Barry Doyle were
parked up already in the car park so she drove around to the passenger
side of the other vehicle. The car in question was that of John Dundon’s
girlfriend, Ciara Killeen. Barry was driving it. “When we pulled up, John
was very excited, saying ‘John Mac is dead, we got him’.” He then said
After that phone call ended, John started panicking. He was giving
out to Barry Doyle, saying it was the wrong man who had been hit, that it
wasn’t John Mac. John was roaring and shouting at Barry Doyle and
Barry was saying “It is him, the way you described this man, this is the
man I killed”. Barry started getting frightened because John was getting
out of control, roaring and screaming. He then said to Ger Dundon that
they were going to go away for a while. She then went back to 84, Hyde
Road, while Ger got into the car with John and Barry and they went up to
She was taken through still photographs extracted from the CCTV
at the Strand Hotel between the 7th and 9th November, 2008 and identified
both herself, Ger Dundon and their children and their movements in and
April Collins confirmed she made her first statement about the
Shane Geoghegan murder in April 2011, some two and a half years after
April Collins was cross-examined by Mr. Nix who asked her if she
indicated she had not received any such indication. Questioned about
various Road Traffic Act convictions, she accepted that on 2nd September,
2010 she was disqualified from driving for four years. She also accepted
been caught again in June of 2012. She was fined on that occasion. She
had no driving licence or insurance and was not displaying a valid NCT
disc. She was fined €300.00 for a range of offences arising out of these
driving offences. It was put to her that she must lead a very charmed life
to get off so lightly. She said it was for the judge to give her whatever
punishment he wanted for what she did. It was put to her that she had
been convicted on 19th May, 2011 for intimidation of a witness and got
three years imprisonment. She agreed and said she did not serve that time
2010 had also been recorded when she was disqualified for five years.
Yet four months later she had been caught again driving without
insurance. She accepted she had not been called up to serve any sentence
arising out of these further offences. Mr. Nix again put it to her that she
lived, or had been living, a charmed life to which she replied that “no one
would like to live the life I’m living, under garda protection 24/7”. It was
put to her that she had been seen around town in Limerick without any
escort. In reply she stated she did not wish to talk about her safety. She
accepted that Ger Dundon had brought court proceedings to enable him
that he was one of the Cratloe rapists, but stated she did not wish to
discuss that matter. Asked if she booked into the Strand Hotel to create
an alibi for Ger Dundon, she confirmed that Ger Dundon asked her to
book into a hotel so she just did what she had been told to do.
It was put to her that she went out from the hotel on the night of the
8th and that she was stopped by garda witnesses on that date. It was put to
her that 8.05pm on the night of 8th November she was stopped by the
gardaí on Crecora Avenue and that she was ‘done up’, looking like she
was heading ‘out on the town’. She said it could have happened, but she
was not going out for the evening. It was put to her that later again that
evening, at about 11.30 p.m, she had been stopped in Parnell Street by the
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gardaí while driving the same motor vehicle. She said that that could
have been the case. She accepted she knew that someone was going to be
killed and it was put to her that she had had two “golden opportunities” to
say to the gardaí at that stage that a murder was about to take place. She
said in reply “I couldn’t. I couldn’t say that to the guards at the time. I’d
She was asked if she was aware that her sister Lisa Collins was
with April Collins. She said that allegations of this sort had been written
all over the walls of a house next door to John Dundon’s house and
elsewhere and that people were talking about it but there was no truth in
it. Her sister Lisa had said to her that she was not with her boyfriend and
Sunday World on 23rd December, 2012 which showed her father, Jimmy
Collins in a photograph with her brother, Gary Collins and her sister
guns on their upper bodies and her father was reported as saying that the
Collins’s would take over from the Dundon gang. She said she had not
seen it. She read the piece in Court but was asked no further questions
about it.
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She was also asked did she know Joseph “Tiny” Lynch who, Mr.
witness stated she know nothing about that. She was asked if she knew a
Gordon Ryan who had served time for biting the nose off a taxi-man in
Limerick city. She accepted she knew both Gordon Ryan and his son. It
was put to the witness that Gordon Ryan was the drugs master of
Limerick city until he went to jail for a considerable time. Again the
She was then asked about the circumstances in which she came to
make a statement. She said she made the statement over being threatened
by John Dundon and Wayne Dundon. She made the complaint about
intimidation on 8th April, 2011. At that time she had a liaison officer in
the gardaí, Garda Hourihan. She contacted him again later and said she
When she went in to the garda station on 20th April, 2011 she also
She accepted on another occasion she had gone to the gardaí to say
she had been threatened by Ciara Killeen. She accepted that case had
gone for trial in Limerick before a jury who had found Ciara Killeen not
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guilty. Mr. Nix put it to the witness that the jury obviously did not
believe her and the witness replied that she did not know whether they
did or not, she had gone up and given her evidence and it was up to the
She was asked why on each of the two occasions when she was
stopped by the gardaí on the 8th November she did not inform them that a
killing was due to take place. She replied she would have been killed if
she had opened her mouth back then. Asked if she felt bad about the fact
that she could have saved a man’s life and did not, she said that an
innocent man had died over this, but that she had not done anything
wrong. She felt sorry for his family because he had been killed and he
She was asked if the gardaí had told her what to say in respect of
the still photographs of her movements at the Strand Hotel. Surely she
did not speak in 24 hour clock terms? She said the gardaí had not put
words into her mouth, the gardaí had just asked what times were on the
film and she just told them, that was it. She accepted that when shown
She accepted that on 19th May, 2011 she had pleaded guilty to the
threatened to kill Lorna Heffernan, but admitted she had followed her
around a shop and threatened to give her a beating. She pleaded guilty
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for it and apologised for what she had done. It was all over who she was
going out with at the time. She might have said on some other occasion
that “if you make a threat against somebody that’s the end of it, they’ll go
to jail” but did not remember actually saying it. She had received a three
year sentence for her own offence which had been suspended. She
agreed she had to put up a sum in cash to get bail at the time she was
charged with intimidating a witness. She agreed she obtained the return
of the money but thought it was €2,000 and not €5,000. She said she
gave it back to some person to give to Ger Dundon. She denied she had
done any deal whereby she got the suspended sentence in exchange for a
deal with the gardaí to give evidence against John Dundon. She stated
repeatedly she was here to tell the truth about what had happened and
nobody had told her what to say. Asked if she had travelled up to Dublin
with the gardaí to give her evidence, she indicated she would prefer not to
discuss her safety and security because she had been threatened by John
Nix put it to the witness that she had continued to draw down social
welfare in Limerick while she spent three months in Spain. She said she
believed she was only going to be there for a week but Ger Dundon had
taken her passport from her when they got there. She could not return
Ger Dundon on his birthday in March while he was in prison and telling
him not to ring her anymore. She accepted she probably did because they
were having arguments all the time. She admitted she had told him she
was not going to spend the rest of her life visiting him in prison and
bringing the kids with her. She agreed she might have told Ger Dundon
that a member of the Emergency Response Unit had taken her from a taxi
and pointed a gun at her while she was travelling to collect her social
welfare. She agreed she had been “pulled” by the gardaí numerous times.
her relationship with Mr. O’Neill in March or April of 2011. She had
She agreed she had made a complaint against Ciara Lynch who
was Dessie Dundon’s girlfriend because she passed her house and started
threatening her family. She rang the gardaí and that was it. It was put to
April Collins that during the course of the trial it transpired that Ciara
Lynch had gone to a garda one month earlier to say that April Collins had
threatened to have her locked up. She said that she had never said that.
She was asked if “Tiny” Lynch was her landlord and she said “no”,
that none of her family owned the house. Her housing allowance went to
She agreed she had met Garda Hourihan when charged with
intimidating a witness. She got bail in spite of his objections. Some time
later she had met him outside her house with her mother and told him that
she had broken up with Ger Dundon and that he had gone to the block
that day over breaking up his cell. She next met Garda Hourihan on 8th
April, 2011 when she went to see him and Detective Chief
about being threatened by John Dundon and Wayne Dundon.” She made
a statement on that occasion. She agreed John Dundon had been arrested
Later, on 20th April, 2011 she told the gardaí that she knew some things
about murders.
agreed she had been driving a Lexus motor car at Crecora Avenue at
8.05pm when she was stopped by the gardaí. She did not accept that she
was “done up to the nines” or going out. She might have been going to
the chipper. She agreed also that at 11.30pm on 8th November, 2008 she
She was asked if on another occasion when she was with Ger
McCormack there was a screaming match between herself and Lisa over
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the allegations that Lisa was sleeping with her partner. She said that
It was suggested to her that having had John Dundon and Wayne
Dundon locked up for intimidation, she then went to the gardaí while they
were inside and made up this story about John Dundon “directing your
sister to steal a car” and for a murder to be carried out. It was suggested
to her that John Dundon had not ordered the hits, but she maintained that
“yes, he did”, and that she was here to tell the truth.
evidence that there was no school on Saturday, 8th November, 2008, she
stated that they had not in fact done so that she had been confused in her
She agreed she made her statement about the present case on 20th
April, 2011.
Asked if John Dundon had ever hit her, she said he had in fact
beaten her outside her home at 84, Hyde Road and she was hurt as a
result. She agreed the Sunday World article indicated that her father was
saying that the Collins gang was going to take over from the Dundon
her by John and Wayne Dundon, John Dundon’s girlfriend and Dessie
Dundon’s girlfriend, their friends and sisters, had come down to her
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mother’s house with pickaxes, hatchets and other weapons and had
attacked her mother’s home while they were all in it. This had occurred
some days before the threats of intimidation began from John Dundon
house pleaded guilty and received a sentence which she thought was
suspended.
age. She was in a relationship with Christopher McCarthy since she was
about thirteen. They started living together when she was sixteen. They
and her sister April Collins lived at 84, Hyde Road. She said she knew
John Dundon and his brothers, that Christopher McCarthy was a first
cousin of the Dundons. She also knew Barry Doyle who used to come to
her house in 2008 with John Dundon. They were present in her house
when she heard John Dundon talking about John McNamara, who he
called “Pitchfork”. She remembered Barry Doyle asking him what was
the story with him and John saying “it’s John McNamara out in Raheen
these discussions had taken place some weeks before. John Dundon told
her and Christopher to steal a car. She did not know what he wanted it
for. He said this “a good few times and said ‘get a fucking car or I’ll slap
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you around the place’ and on the last day he came around he said ‘if you
don’t get the fucking car I’ll kill her’ about me”. He said that to
Christopher, but I was standing there too. So we went off to look for a
car. I was driving a grey Passat and Christopher and Sam Quilligan were
in the car with me. We drove out country roads and down back roads.
Morrison’s there was a car on the side of the road a little bit further up on
the left hand side so we stopped. Sam got out and I went up and turned
the car around and by the time I had turned it around Sam had pulled off
in the other car. This other car was a big 7-seater car which was blue. I
Morrison’s, passing the pub again and we came back into Limerick by
Raheen. Sam parked the car near apartments there and put the key under
the back wheel. He got back into my car and had a handbag with him.
There was money and cheques in the handbag. We then went back out
the back roads and over to Mungret graveyard where Sam got out with
the handbag and went into the graveyard. He did not have the handbag
John Dundon came up to my house that day and we just told him
that we got the car. A couple of days after that he came up again and said
him out to see the car. After that again, John Dundon came up with Barry
Doyle and Christopher and I took Barry Doyle out to see the car.
was at home in Crecora Avenue with Christopher and her niece Chloe.
The phone rang and that woke her up. Soon after that there was knocking
at the front door so Christopher got up and looked out the window. It was
John Dundon and Barry Doyle. They wanted to come into the house so
Christopher let them in. She went downstairs. “We went to the kitchen
where John Dundon was saying that John Mc was dead. He was just
laughing. Barry Doyle was quiet and wasn’t saying anything. He had
new clothes on him. They did not stay long”. She heard about the
car similar to that which was used in Shane Geoghegan’s murder. It was
The witness was shown CCTV footage from Morrison’s bar for
16th October, 2008 and identified herself as entering the bar followed by
out onto the road. She then identified the car which had been stolen
travelling in front of them with her car following behind. This was a
dark people carrier vehicle being driven by Sam Quilligan and being
followed by her car as both vehicles passed the front of Morrison’s bar.
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She similarly identified her car, herself and Christopher McCarthy from
being interviewed by the gardaí in February 2009 when she was arrested
had been. It was put to her that while under arrest she was asked by the
gardaí if she and Christopher were texting Barry Doyle shortly after the
murder of Shane Geoghegan and that she had maintained to the gardaí
that she knew nothing about it. The gardaí had put it to her that she had
something to do with the stealing of the car, but she had denied it.
She denied that she had discussed her intended evidence with the
gardaí. She agreed she had the same liaison officer as her sister April
Collins, namely, Garda James Hourihan. She came to know him when
John Dundon first made threats to her sister. She recalled that Mr.
Dundon went to jail for making those threats, but denied that there was a
She agreed she had been put off the road in September 2004 for
having no insurance and was disqualified for five years. She admitted to
other road traffic offences in April and July 2004. Asked if she had
immunity from prosecution arising out of the current matter, she said no.
Counsel for the prosecution intervened to say that the witness had in fact
Renault Espace people carrier on 16th October, 2008 but not otherwise.
The witness said that she felt sick about Shane Geoghegan’s
However, the whole thing had been always on her mind and she had been
She was shown a photograph of her father with her brother Gareth
crosses on their upper bodies and was asked how she felt about people
who had guns tattooed on themselves. She said that everybody liked
“different things” but she wouldn’t like to get a tattoo of a gun on herself
although she did have tattoos. She denied ever having a relationship with
Ger Dundon but was aware that her sister and Ger Dundon were not
getting on. She did not know when her sister April had met Thomas
O’Neill but she knows him. She was asked if he arrived on the scene
around about the time her sister April broke it off with Ger Dundon and
said she did not know. She was very upset and hurt by seeing things
sprayed up and down Hyde Road to suggest she was having a relationship
with Ger Dundon when there was no truth in it. She never discussed it
with her sister and they both just ignored it. She did not discuss it with
She was asked if she had been arrested in connection with the
murder of a Mr. Jack Fitzgerald. She said she had been. She was asked
some questions about his murder. She was asked if she knew Joseph
Lynch. She confirmed that she did that he was her father’s uncle. She
was asked if she was also questioned in connection with the murder of a
Mr. Noel Campion and she agreed she had been but did not know why
she had been questioned. She said she did not know who killed Noel
Campion.
Asked how she knew the date when she had been in Morrison’s
pub, she said that it had been the first and only time she was there. She
did not know the time and date but she had been there on that one
occasion. She knew the date now because the date and time were on the
CCTV footage and on the pictures. Asked if she currently had insurance,
she stated that she was a named driver on a policy of Deirdre O’Donovan,
It was pointed out to the witness by Mr. Nix that her sister April
Collins had said in evidence that she had discussed the allegation that
Lisa was in a relationship with Ger Dundon, so why was she denying that
any such conversation had taken place? The witness replied that she did
that the first time she made a statement to the gardaí about this matter,
Limerick from London in 1999. He told the Court that shortly before
car. I didn’t know what he was going to use it for but he threatened that
around and robbed a car and I gave it to him. When we stole the car I
was with my girlfriend, Lisa Collins and another man, Sam Quilligan.
We were in a grey Passat which was owned and driven by Lisa Collins on
the day. We drove out from Weston and pulled into a pub to go to the
toilet. I think Morrissey’s is the name of the pub. Lisa went in first and I
went in as well. We went around a corner and there was a Renault people
carrier parked at the side of the road, blue in colour. There was a woman
who had come out of the car and was heading into an old woman inside a
porch. We turned around and came back towards this car and took it.
Sam took it. We passed up by Morrissey’s again and then made a right
turn. Sam was in the blue Renault and Lisa and I were following in the
Village. After he parked the car he jumped back into our car and had a
handbag. There was some money inside and a cheque for €10,000. He
gave me a few pounds out of the cash. We drove out to a graveyard then
and hid the bag in the graveyard. After that we dropped him off.
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We met John Dundon later the same day and told him we got the
car. He told us to bring him out and show it to him. We did that, me and
Lisa.
was at home with my girlfriend Lisa. During the night John Dundon
called to the house. He was with Barry Doyle. When they came into the
McNamara. He was excited. They stayed for a bit and then went away.
I was asked by the gardaí the following day about what had happened, but
I could tell them nothing about it for fear for my family’s life.
months in March 2011. He had not appealed the sentence which had
custody and received an extra month on his sentence for that offence. He
was asked if during the incident the subject matter of the criminal charge
was it correct that he did not make any remark but simply stood by
nearby with his hands in his pockets? He agreed. He was asked if the
three men present had stated they were going to get a gun and come back
32
as they walked away from the scene. Christopher McCarthy said that this
had not been said. Mark Heffernan was the man from whom the money
drugs in 2009 and 2010 and had been disqualified from driving for five
with intent to cause injury. The article in question had been a walking
stick. He had other driving offences in July 2006 and had trespassed on a
railway line in 2005. He said this was a route he used to take on his way
home to his mother’s house. In June 2005 he had been guilty of using
threatening and abusive behaviour and in the same year was found guilty
had occurred in previous years and in 2002 there had been a larceny
regard to all these offences, Christopher McCarthy said “I’m not saying
tattoo of a gun on his back. It also had the name of his friend Frankie
be seen shaking hands with Brian Collopy. Also in the photograph were
extortion incident were Gareth Collins and Jimmy Collins, who were
Lisa’s brother and father. Mr. Nix read from a report suggesting that Mr.
Mark Heffernan was pursued at high speed across Limerick city in a car
driven by Garreth Collins and three other men armed with hammers or
black bars. Christopher McCarthy said that he knew nothing about that.
He accepted that all four men involved could between them have had as
many as 140 convictions. All he had done was to tell the man to pay
whole thing was on his mind and he wanted to get it off his mind. He
February 2009 and that he had said, on the advice of his solicitor, that he
did not know what the car which they had stolen was to be used for. He
didn’t say anything to the gardaí in February 2009 because he was in fear
Dundon, he said he knew it was not true. No one had ever slagged him
about it. He denied that there had been any party to celebrate the
arising out of the stealing of the car some weeks before the murder of
Ryan, Senior. He said he did. When asked if Gordon Ryan Senior was at
one stage the number one drug dealer in Limerick, he said that counsel
would have to ask him that question. Asked if he knew anything about
received two years imprisonment. He accepted that this was for being in
cousin of Lisa. He had been living with them for some time. Asked if he
was living with him at the time of the pipe bomb attack on the
Birmingham house, he said that Mr. Collins was living with them but he
knew nothing about the pipe bombing. He accepted that his brother
Marie Carew gave evidence that in October 2008 she was the
2639. She was driving the car in the vicinity of Morrison’s pub on the
to deliver a letter and had left the keys in her car. While with the old lady
who lived in the house, she heard her car being driven off quickly
was a baby seat attached to the rere seat of the car and a handbag in
which she had a number of cheques and credit cards. There was also
documentation on the front seat of her car with her name and phone
event”. There were invitations to that event lying on the passenger seat.
She believed the amount of cash in her handbag was something close to
€2,000. The handbag was a black leather handbag with red stripes on it.
It was returned to her by a priest who contacted her after he found details
of her name in the bag in July 2010. The bag had been badly damaged
from being exposed to the elements, but there were still personal details
€10,000 in the bag. The cheque was cancelled at the time. She was only
out of the car for a few minutes when it was taken. She was actually
him a lady’s handbag which he had found in the course of his work.
37
From items in the bag he was able to identify the owner of the bag and he
spaces for cars to park in beside the apartment blocks. In October 2008
she became aware that a Renault Espace, navy coloured vehicle had been
parked there for a number of weeks. She had never seen it before and
never saw it move during the three week period that it was there. She had
looked into it and seen an A4 sheet of paper in the car with a lady’s name
on it. It looked like a notice that she was going to display locally for
woman’s name was Marie Carew. She noticed that one of the back seats
was laid down and that there was a child seat visible also in the boot part.
She recalled that on the night when this murder occurred she had been out
for dinner and when she came home that evening the car was no longer
there. “I recall telling the guards that the registration number of the
record in which he stated that he first saw the navy Renault Espace on
10th October but believed now that date was incorrect, it was about a
Ballycummin Village for several weeks. The car never moved during
38
those weeks. On the night of the 8th November he and his wife went out
for a meal at about 6.30pm and when they returned at about 8.30pm the
A further statement of Mr. Mark Duffy was also read into the
the blue navy coloured Renault Espace parked outside the apartment
block. His attention was drawn to it because of the way it was parked. It
did not allow other cars to park in the space behind it. He noticed the car
had fins on the side mirrors which he thought was strange. The car
stayed in the same place the whole time. The last time he saw the car was
apartment to go into town. He got the quarter to six bus back from town
to go home and arrived just after 6.00. The car was gone at this stage.
A statement of Veronica Duffy was read into the record. She lives
at 9B Ballycummin and she had also noticed the Renault Espace parked
outside the front of the apartments. She had observed a baby seat in the
car behind the passenger seat. She thought it was strange because of the
child seat that the car had not been moved for a couple of weeks. She
never saw the car move from its spot during those weeks but noticed it
there Philip Collopy and Ciaran Collopy arrived at the scene. Philip
Collopy handed to him his mobile phone which was a black Nokia
mobile phone. He placed this phone along with its sim card in an
Ms. Victoria Gunnery said that Barry Doyle was her boyfriend in
2008 and that they had a child together. She confirmed that Barry Doyle
Ms. Maureen King told the Court that at the relevant time she was
calling number, the called number, the date, time and duration of a call
equipment that’s used, the cell site identification and the international
mobile phone numbers, the first of which was 085-1133006. She gave
seconds, which is just under 25 minutes. The relevant cell sites for the
Estate. She also referred to the call data sheet for the recipient mobile
on the call data record for the calling number. The number 085-1135904
also identified the cell sites appropriate to the Meteor network and was
telephone call was routed. The serving cell is determined by the signal
strength and quality received by the mobile phone and this in turn relates
directly to the distance from the GSM base station. He indicated the
location of ESB Annacotty on a site location map and similarly the cell
site for ESB Plassey, west of Finnegan’s pub and pointed the same out to
the gardaí. The calling number was in the area served by ESB Plassey
and the recipient number was in the area served by ESB Annacotty. He
42
also furnished a map showing the best server coverage area in respect of
both. He marked on the site location map the location of Finnegan’s pub.
received the Nokia phone from the exhibits officer. On checking its
details, he discovered that the phone number attached to this phone was
Garda Brian O’Connor told the Court that he carried out inquiries
question.
OF RELEVANT PERSONS
Road. John Dundon got out of the passenger seat on that occasion. On
43
the same occasion, Barry Doyle got out of the back of the vehicle and all
and on that occasion he had seen Ciara Killeen driving her grey VW
Passat with John Dundon as a passenger. On that occasion the car pulled
Lisa Collins. He confirmed that Ms. Killeen stayed in the car and Mr.
Dundon left the car and walked in the direction of the house at 7, Crecora
Avenue.
record dated 5th November, 2008 in which it was noted that on 4th
Avenue. The same record indicated that Barry Doyle and John Dundon
November, 2008. Asked if he was again seen in Dublin after that date,
the witness replied he was seen in Limerick after that. Questioned about
question was a Word document which was not a direct print-out from
PULSE. He was unable to explain the gap on the particular page but
believed it might have been a typographical error or that the space bar or
return bar had been hit too often. He believed the defence had been given
44
all the required intelligence reports and that there was nothing omitted.
2011 when, following his arrest, John Dundon was asked to account for
his whereabouts on the 7th, 8th and 9th November, 2008. He confirmed
was on duty at Mayorstone Garda Station and was out on mobile patrol in
Cliona Park at speed. The driver of the car was Ciara Killeen and the
passengers were John Dundon and Barry Doyle. John Dundon and Barry
Doyle got out of the car and ran into 87, Cliona Park, the home of John
they observed the car again and stopped it. The driver of the car was
Ciara Killeen, the front seat passenger was John Dundon and the rear seat
passenger was Barry Doyle. John Dundon was wearing a bullet proof
18th October, 2008 and observed a grey VW Passat on Hyde Road. Ciara
Killeen was driving the car and John Dundon was the front seat
passenger. The vehicle turned into Crecora Avenue and pulled up outside
45
Dundon then exited the vehicle and went into the house at 7, Crecora
Avenue.
Garda Mark Mannix gave evidence that he was stationed in Henry Street
to stop a car which made an illegal right turn from Henry Street onto
Glentworth Street. There were two occupants in the car. The driver was
Barry Doyle and the front seat passenger was the accused, John Dundon.
monitoring garda CCTV cameras which covered the city centre area of
Limerick at the relevant time. There would have been about 20 cameras
and there were five recording devices then with five VHS tapes. He had
inserted five new tapes for the 29th October, 2008, including tapes 29 B
Street and Robert Street in Limerick and was given access there to the
downloaded video files from the system which recorded certain matters
46
October, 2008 on to four discs which he later handed over to Garda Dan
Murphy who is the member in charge of the CCTV viewing room for the
facility to allow the viewing of the garda CCTV camera footage for
adjustments for real time differences for the times shown on the footage.
persons in Cruise’s Street and Robert Street on 29th October, 2008. The
material was played to the Court. In the CCTV one could see a black
Philip Collopy, the man who had handed him the telephone on the 9th
November, 2008, could be seen alighting from the passenger side of the
car. Two other persons were then to be seen with Philip Collopy, being
John Dundon and Barry Doyle. Another person, Ciaran Collopy, then
47
arrives. The group stand together talking for some time in Cruise’s
Street. Three of them walk back then in the direction of Patrick Street
where the black BMW is parked. Ciaran Collopy and Philip Collopy got
the gate camera for 16th October, 2008 and downloaded footage of that
evening from 4.45pm to 8.00pm from the hard drive on the two discs and
Mr. McNamara’s house onto two discs which he gave over to him. He
48
possession of various Garda VHS tapes from the Garda camera system in
the city centre in Limerick in the Cruise’s Street area on the 29th October,
2008. The CCTV footage was then played to the Court. Additional
material was also shown to the Court from the camera at the Icon at
Smyth’s Bar on Robert Street. The footage showed Barry Doyle and
John Dundon get into a vehicle having approached it from the direction of
Cruise’s Street. He retained all relevant CCTV exhibits with the exhibits
four doors away from the home of the late Shane Geoghegan.
registration.
compilation DVD which is of all the relevant CCTV footage from the
played to the Court. It began with the footage from Morrison’s Bar and
moved onto the footage taken from Mr. McNamara’s home in Licadoon.
It then showed the footage taken from Cruise’s Street and then to the
number of still image print-outs from the CCTV system in the Strand
manager at the Strand Hotel. He recalled that the gardaí asked for
There were 52 cameras in the hotel at the time which were fed through
for DVRs which were all kept in a particular room. They can be copied
on to a DVD.
manager in the Strand Hotel and asking if it was possible for him to view
the various recording systems and gave evidence of the time difference
50
actual time. He recorded the various items on to CDs and a memory stick
memory stick from the previous witness and that he handed same over to
Garda Murphy. Garda Kelly confirmed receiving these discs from the
exhibits officer and produced a number of still images from the footage
2008.
(D) DK4 - shows April Collins with two children on the same
November, 2008.
November, 2008.
(I) DK9 - shows April Collins and Ger Dundon in hotel lobby at
(J) DK10 – shows April Collins with another person and child
Ms. Julie Moscone gave evidence that she was the front office
confirmed that April Collins had made a booking to stay in the hotel on
7th November, 2008. She was checked in at 7.51pm and checked out the
pre-paid her booking by a laser debit card. On the first night she had
stayed in room 113 and on the second night had stayed in room 402.
52
and that was for the purpose of obtaining the details of a bank account at
AIB in the name of April Collins. Mr. Patsy Cahill from the AIB Bank in
the name of April Collins which showed debit transactions for her stay in
the Strand Hotel, one in the amount of €159.00 and the other in the
amount of €229.00.
respect of the murder of Shane Geoghegan was put into effect. Following
his arrest on that occasion John Dundon had been brought to the
exhibits, including the CCTV footage from Cruise’s Street dated 29th
October, 2008. He was also shown stills from the Strand Hotel, Limerick
into effect of Part 5 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939 and of the
30th May, 1972 where the instrument of the Government establishing the
53
courts were inadequate to deal with the particular offence had also been
handed in. Its terms were read into the court record.
A witness from the Passport Office was called at the request of the
something she was alleged to have said in a different case, on the basis
indicated that his client had given him a list of 21 persons whom he
down’ to 5, of whom two, Lika Casey and Nathan Killeen were clearly
relevant. The Court directed that they attend and be produced for the
was not an honest person and agreed that if his own daughter brought him
or somebody like him home he would not like it very much. Asked by
Dundon and his brothers. He also knew Barry Doyle and had met him in
him, yes”. Asked if he met him, he said he used to “talk to him once or
his own company. He bumped into him on Hyde Road because he lived
on Hyde Road and often saw him there. Nobody had ever introduced him
to Barry Doyle. He often saw John Dundon because they lived on the
same road and he admitted he had been in the house. He had never met
Barry Doyle in John Dundon’s house but had bumped into him outside.
55
Asked if he knew John McNamara, he said yes he had heard of him, but
he did not know the man. He had never heard him referred to by the
Nathan Killeen was a friend of his. He lived at 80, Hyde Road with his
sister Ciara Killeen and John Dundon and was often staying there.
family, the McCarthys and the Collins, amongst others, he said he knew
nothing about it, although he lived at 163, Hyde Road. Asked if he had a
that the front door at that address was a reinforced door with cameras.
firearms with intent to endanger life which had been imposed in Limerick
Circuit Court on the 27th October, 2010. He had pleaded guilty to the
charge. He accepted he had shot a man called Mark Kirwan in the leg
with a sawn-off shotgun. Pressed for a reason for why he had shot him he
replied: “No, I just done it”. Asked if he was familiar with the Glock, he
said it was a handgun as far as he knew. He had seen it on the news and
on the papers.
that.
He said he knew April Collins and her sister, Lisa and her
Hyde Road area. He again stated he was not present in John Dundon’s
He accepted that the home of Jimmy Collins, father of April Collins, had
gun was found during the course of the search, he stated that no gun had
been found at Mr. Collins house. Asked if Mr. Quilligan was ever
charged with taking the Renault Espace motor vehicle, he replied that he
had not. It was not a garda decision, but a decision of the Director of
Public Prosecutions. He said he did not believe Mr. Quilligan had been
granted immunity.
57
Mr. Nix then explained to the Court that he had called Sergeant
explained that this was the “different case” he had in mind when asking
for her recall. He indicated that he wished to have on the record what
April Collins had said in response to certain questions at that trial. Mr.
O’Connell stated that the transcript of the trial in question had been
furnished to the defence some considerable time ago and there was no
reason why April Collins should have been recalled for further
mounting a filibuster and trying to harass the witness. Mr. Nix accepted
he had been given the transcript of the Barry Doyle trial and that Mr.
that they would be satisfied to have received as evidence and read into the
record the several relevant questions and answers to April Collins from
that trial. Garda John McCormack, the exhibits officer, who had been
present throughout the Barry Doyle trial, was sworn in for the purpose of
A: That’s correct.
A: That’s correct.
Q: Now, do you accept now that therefore that when you said
that Ms. Heffernan was lying about what she accused you of
A: That’s correct.
Q: Alright. And the reason you were telling lies was because
A: That’s correct.
Q: So, the prospect the jail, can I suggest to you, was even
A: I don’t understand.
Q: Well you had at the time two young children at home to look
weren’t they?
Q: Well the fear of jail must have been a very real consideration
Q: Of course you had. Now, when did you plead guilty to that
matter?
Q: Can I suggest to you that you eventually were dealt with for
May, 2011?
Q: Alright. Put it this way, it was about a month after you made
Q: Well, you are sure because you know it was after you had
Doyle?
the day, after you made your statement against Mr. Doyle?
A: That is correct.
Q: And for the offence that you were concerned about you
didn’t you?
Mr. Nix confirmed to the Court that he was satisfied that any
accused.
submissions, this case is all about credibility. While that may be said of
many criminal cases, it is particularly true in this case where all the
term relationship with John Dundon’s brother, Ger Dundon. Her sister,
All of the witnesses who gave evidence at the trial have a long
create serious difficulties for the gardaí in the investigation of crime and
serious problems and risks for any member of such a group who
against his or her former associates. When questioned about the events
advice, saying they knew nothing about the event, or refusing to say
anything.
The evidence heard by this Court during the course of the trial
April Collins and Ger Dundon broke up. Having terminated her
Court heard evidence from April Collins, which was not contested, that
John Dundon’s girlfriend and Dessie Dundon’s girlfriend and others had
come down to her mother’s house with pickaxes, hatchets and other
weapons and had attacked her mother’s home while they were all in it,
and that this had occurred before threats of intimidation against her began
to the reason for these events, but they appear to the Court to constitute
the backdrop whereby April Collins made complaints to the gardaí, first
about the attacks on her home and then about being intimidated by John
Dundon and Wayne Dundon. The Court was told that, following their
detention, April Collins made her statement on 20th April, 2011 about the
Shane Geoghegan killing, having told Garda Hourihan earlier that month
that she had information about murders. She was asked by defence
alternative motive for her to give evidence, but that article appeared long
after April Collins made her statement in this case and the truth or
Collins and Dundon families was not further explored with her or
established in evidence.
number of rhetorical questions, to which the Court shall later return, the
context of the theft of the Renault Espace vehicle on 16th October, 2008.
The Court feels that it is an issue which it must address. There are
Carney & Anor [1955] IR 324 the Supreme Court held, on the particular
accomplice for the purpose of the rule requiring that the jury
testimony.”
65
(a) On the night of the murder, April Collins was twice stopped
evidence she would have been killed herself had she done
so.
(b) Some two and a half years elapsed before she came forward
events.
house following the killing and that they sat in the kitchen
there was no evidence that any other man had been killed
that night.
to say nothing.
For these various reasons the Court is of the view that it should
mindful that the evidence of one accomplice can not corroborate that of
the three main prosecutions witnesses in this trial. That is not to say that
the Court cannot convict without such evidence if it finds the evidence of
analysis of the evidence tendered in this case, stressing that at all times
68
reasonable doubt.
to this analysis.
Starting with the events of 16th October, 2008, the evidence of Lisa
Collins and Christopher McCarthy is to the effect that they had been
John Dundon. At no time was it suggested to either witness that they had
participated in the taking of the Renault Espace people carrier on the 16th
who was not a witness at the trial. Their involvement in this part of the
bar, showing Lisa Collins drawing up in her motor car and herself and
Christopher McCarthy entering the pub in the late afternoon for the
purpose of using the toilet facilities. Very shortly afterwards the same
CCTV shows the Renault Espace being driven in the opposite direction
and being followed by Lisa Collins driving her own car. The car was
69
testified to the fact that the Renault Espace remained undisturbed and
unmoved in that position in the weeks preceding the murder. The Court
is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the Renault Espace was the
after 1.00am on the 9th November in a field joining the Mill Road in
Rossbrien. It was the same type of vehicle and had the same VIN/chassis
number as the vehicle stolen from Marie Carew on 16th October, 2008.
neighbour’s house and talking to an old lady there when her car was
the Jesuit plot in Old Mungret, one of whom, a gardener, handed same to
a priest who, finding particulars of Marie Carew inside the bag, returned
the same to her some considerable time afterwards. The Court is satisfied
70
that proof of the user of this vehicle in the events of the murder on 8th
Lisa Collins gave evidence that John Dundon came down to their
home a couple of days after they took the car. He required them to bring
gave evidence that on a later date John Dundon brought Barry Doyle with
him to their home for the same purpose. There were garda sightings of
were seen together by Garda Mannix on 5th November, 2008 when the car
in which they were travelling was observed to make an illegal turn off
Henry Street in Limerick. The Court is thus satisfied that Lisa Collins
spoke truthfully when telling the Court about the theft of the Renault
Espace and of John Dundon coming to their home thereafter and the
side at this stage the Court’s assessment of her demeanour and honesty as
a witness on this particular issue, her account of the discussion and plan
Hyde Road where she named all of those present. She was never
challenged on the basis that no such meeting occurred, nor was her
evidence. Liam Casey gave evidence for the defence that he was not
present at any such meeting, but for reasons later elaborated, the Court
least, Ger Dundon, is borne out by other evidence. The Court accepts as
truthful her evidence that she was asked by Ger Dundon to book into a
hotel so as to provide an alibi for him at the time of the intended killing.
check into the Strand Hotel shortly before 8.00pm on the evening of the
7th November and again on the following day, 8th November. She was not
challenged in her evidence that this was for the purpose of creating an
alibi for Ger Dundon. In fact, she stated that there was no other reason
why they should have stayed in a hotel as their own house in Hyde Road
how she and her partner went to meet John Dundon and Barry Doyle in a
72
car park at Finnegan’s pub shortly before 7.30am. While they were there
a call was made to Mr. Philip Collopy, apparently to “slag him” over the
became apparent during the course of this conversation that the wrong
man had been killed and how John Dundon panicked, became angry, and
The Collopy phone was handed to the gardaí at the crime scene
later that morning on the 9th November, 2008. It bore the number 085-
Doyle was given to the Court by Ms. Victoria Gunnery. It was identified
the Collopy phone at 7.28am and that the duration of that call was 1,498
seconds.
events which preceded the murder and with regard to those events which
73
followed it. That testimony places the accused John Dundon in a central
role in the planning, direction and arrangements for the crime in question.
association with John Dundon at the material time, and of the events
the taking of the vehicle and the subsequent visits of John Dundon to
Avenue on the 18th and 19th of October, 2008, just two days after the theft
was borne out by CCTV footage of the two men together in Cruise’s
Street on the afternoon of 29th October, 2008. Evidence was also given
by Garda Brian O’Connor of seeing the two men together entering John
Dundon’s house on 13 October, 2008. The two men were again seen
seen together on the 9th November being the actual day following the
murder.
74
months before she was due to face sentence in the Circuit Court in
Limerick, she made her statement about Barry Doyle? She was very
transcript from the Barry Doyle trial, she had two young children and was
pregnant with a third child. Mr. Nix further raised the question as to why
it took two weeks following her indication to Garda Hourihan that she
garda station to make a statement. Why was her statement not recorded?
Mr. Nix stated that what was recorded was the statement being read over
and signing it. Was it possible to believe that April Collins spoke the 24
hour clock? In support of his contention that April Collins may have
done a deal with the gardaí at the time of her sentencing for threatening
Lorna Heffernan, Mr. Nix relied on answers she gave during the trial of
75
Barry Doyle when she admitted she was very concerned about the
care for and was in fact pregnant at the time. This, Mr. Nix suggested,
provided ample motive for April Collins to agree to collude in the making
Collins accepted in cross-examination that she simply read this time off
the stills which had been presented to her and the Court attaches no
particular significance to that fact. The fact that the interview on the 20th
April, 2011 was not video-recorded did not lead to counsel to cross-
examine garda witnesses on the basis that its contents had been entirely
might have been preferable if the entire interview had been video-
necessity had to involve not merely the gardaí but the presiding judge
who imposed the particular sentence on April Collins following her guilty
significant sentence for that offence, albeit that it was suspended. The
76
Court notes that in the course of the evidence in this case it was told that
women who came to the Collins family home, including the girlfriends of
John and Wayne Dundon, and who were said to be making threats with
Mr. Nix then further asked if the Court believed that her statement
about John Dundon coincided with her “bust-up” with Ger Dundon in
said to Ger on the telephone, when he was in Portlaoise Prison, that she
“didn’t want to be going up there and bringing the kids up to see him” for
the rest of her life. In this regard, the Court can see that the break-up of
that particular relationship may well have led, and probably did lead, to
an alienation between April Collins and the Dundon family, such as had
the effect of freeing her from the bonds of silence and secrecy which
necessarily would have formed part of her association with the Dundon
family. The Court considers it likely that the break-up of that relationship
and the ugly events which followed it was the trigger factor in persuading
John and Wayne Dundon and then, later on, the Shane Geoghegan
murder. However, that fact – if fact it be - does not in any way disqualify
invariably a trigger factor or event which breaks down the wall of silence
The Court agrees with Mr. Nix, as already indicated in its analysis,
that the behaviour of April Collins on the night of 8th November, 2008,
was reprehensible in that the Court agrees she had opportunities to reveal
that a killing was due to take place but said nothing on the occasions
when she was stopped. Her explanation in that regard that she was
terrified that she would be killed if she had done so is understood by the
Court, and while she gave no direct evidence that any such threat had
been made by John Dundon, the overall tenor of her evidence made clear
that the verbalisation of any such threat was not required for her to
believe it existed.
Mr. Nix further pointed out that there was no evidence whatsoever
of any spleen between John Dundon and John McNamara, but that there
Collins, Lisa Collins and Christopher McCarthy that, both before and
after the killing (and before John Dundon was aware that the wrong
person had been killed), John Dundon had expressed strong feelings of
home of Lisa Collins and Christopher McCarthy and again on the night of
particular reason was adduced in evidence for this antipathy, the evidence
Mr. Nix placed considerable reliance on the fact that April Collins
had stated in evidence that “all you have to do to get some bloke locked
on day 7, pp. 36-37 of the transcript, it appears that April Collins in fact
said she was aware that such was the case, but she could not recall if she
had herself ever actually said that to Ger Dundon. She thus said she
belief and that her statement that her conscience was pricked when she
not credible. She had remained silent for years afterwards. This was a
presumably on the basis that she had information in relation to same, but
had said she knew nothing about them. She had also said she knew
present case, which Mr. Nix suggested was simply not credible.
79
The Court has already indicated the manner of its approach to the
accomplice whose support for John Dundon also ceased alongside that of
by Mr. Nix are points of detail which, the Court is satisfied, do not
undermine her credibility on the central issues in this case. The Court
finds her evidence about the taking of the vehicle and the comings and
goings of John Dundon to her home, both before and on the night of the
murder, to be credible and truthful. The Court feels it can accept her
Mr. Aidan Kelly was killed, he said he had no idea who was shooting at
him. While he accepted he got seven and a half years from the Special
Criminal Court for seeking repayment of a loan, the fact that he had not
said he stood around while two other men were seeking the repayment of
Circuit Court for being in a car with ammunition in it. He had suggested
believe that? He had also stated he knew nothing about immunity from
prosecution in the current case, which again, Mr. Nix suggested, beggared
belief because what was the point of granting such immunity if the
context of the present case, such testimony as he did give about the taking
of the Renault Espace and the visits by John Dundon and Barry Doyle are
Mr. Nix pointed to the fact that there was a gap in the PULSE
on 4th November. He suggested that the gap might be significant and that
the explanation offered that the typist may have hit the return button
defence in this case. The Court does not attach any sinister significance
Finally, Mr. Nix suggested that April Collins, her sister and
and to concoct a case against him. Again, the Court is satisfied that this
hearing the three main prosecution witnesses over a number of days and
of forming some estimate of their abilities, the Court is quite satisfied that
individuals. Further, the evidence of April Collins and Lisa Collins relate
said in evidence about their own particular roles required support from
CONCLUSION
the behest of John Dundon and for some purpose of his. The Court also
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accepts that in the period of weeks and on the night prior to the killing,
witnesses in the Clonmore Estate make it clear that it was a dark, navy
blue people carrier which drove away from the estate in the immediate
aftermath of the shooting and it was this vehicle which was found ablaze
in a field off the Mill Road in Rossbrien some short time later. The
neighbour at the time when her car was stolen provides corroboration for
The Court is satisfied that the prosecution case to the effect that
there was a close association between Mr. Dundon and Barry Doyle has
been made out. This was established not merely by the main prosecution
witnesses but also by that of garda witnesses and by CCTV footage of the
two men together on Cruise’s Street and its vicinity on 29th October,
2008, evidence of great value which must have taken hundreds of police
The Court had the opportunity of observing the demeanour of this witness
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relation to the events the evening of the 7th November and the early
what was said and what was done. She did not present herself as some
sort of innocent and admitted to her own wrongdoings in the past and
provided explanations when asked why she said and did certain things.
She said she now lived in fear for her life and was under garda protection
24/7. She said she had come to court to tell the truth about what had
happened and the Court finds her account to be well corroborated in the
form of CCTV footage from the Strand Hotel in Limerick and the mobile
The Court would again note that Ms. Collins was not challenged on her
assertion that there was a meeting in John Dundon’s house that evening,
and the Court further bears in mind that there was no reason for April
Collins and Ger Dundon to check into a hotel for that night and the
following night other than on the basis she stated, namely, to provide an
alibi for Ger Dundon. Nor was it ever suggested to her that the meeting
in the car park of Finnegan’s pub, occurring as it did at such an early hour
most serious nature, but admitted shooting another man with a shotgun in
the leg without offering any reason why he did it. Such evidence as he
gave was perfunctory and evasive. His demeanour when giving it did not
inspire confidence or convey to the Court that the witness was telling the
The Court further accepts the evidence from Lisa Collins and
Christopher McCarthy that on the night of the murder, and following that
event, John Dundon and Barry Doyle called to their home at 7, Crecora
Avenue. The evidence given, to the effect that Mr. Doyle was quiet and
wearing new clothes – in itself an odd circumstance - was not in any way
challenged, nor was there any challenge to the account given by Lisa
Collins and Christopher McCarthy to the effect that John Dundon was
The Court is thus satisfied, that, even treating the main prosecution
each and every point raised on behalf of the accused in this case, the
Court is satisfied that the prosecution has established the guilt of John
Dundon in this case beyond reasonable doubt. The Court finds the