Frances Watkins, 21 Mar
ALMOST 16 years after innocent rugby player Shane Geoghegan was shot
dead in a case of mistaken identity, the Limerick gangster who ordered
the hit, John Dundon, has been accused of a "cynical ploy" after he
sacked his lawyers and asked for an adjournment of an appeal against
his murder conviction.
After the Court of Appeal granted an application for Dundon's lawyers
to withdraw from the case, Dundon told the three-judge court that he
discharged his lawyers after discovering last Tuesday that they were
unable to advance a ground of appeal that had been identified in recent
months.
He said he didn't want to go into detail about the additional ground of
appeal but said it related to things that were not disclosed to him
ahead of his trial and that he was told did not exist but he is now in
a position to prove did exist.
He said he had instructed his legal team to raise the ground of appeal
but decided to discharge them when he claimed he was told they "hadn't
done it properly".
Sean Guerin SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said Dundon
was engaging in a "cynical ploy" and that he had used a similar tactic
at his trial in 2013.
Counsel said disclosure was carried out in full and the director is
"adamant" it can meet any complaint regarding disclosure. He said the
director is anxious to get on with the case and the deceased's mother,
who has attended every court date, "wants to see an end" to the
matter.
Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said Dundon had "gone through several sets
of competent lawyers" and that the latest dismissal "must raise an
issue of good faith".
Mr Justice John Edwards, presiding, granted the application for an
adjournment but warned that Dundon must instruct his new lawyers at the
earliest opportunity and they must complete all necessary paperwork by
April 8.
The appeal hearing will take place on April 22 and Mr Justice Edwards
said the court would "not entertain any further applications for
adjournment barring exceptional and unforeseen circumstances."
Dundon (41) formerly of Hyde Road in Limerick, was convicted at the
Special Criminal Court in 2013 of ordering the hit that killed the
28-year-old Mr Geoghegan near the victim's home at Clonmore, Kilteragh,
Dooradoyle on November 9, 2008. He is serving a life sentence.
Mr Geoghegan played rugby for Garryowen in Limerick and had been
watching an Ireland international game at a friend's house before
heading home shortly before 1am. He had just texted his girlfriend
Jenna Barry to say he was on his way when
Ms Barry heard shots being fired outside. Mr Geoghan was shot five
times with a Glock semi-automatic pistol. The fatal shot was to the
back of the head.
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It was the State’s case that Mr Geoghegan was the unintended victim of
a shooting that was meant for another man and was ordered by John
Dundon. Key prosecution witness April Collins gave evidence that John
Dundon ordered gunman Barry Doyle to kill the other man.
Doyle (38) admitted during garda interviews that he shot Mr Geoghegan
in a case of mistaken identity.
However Doyle, of Portland Row in Dublin 1, later pleaded not guilty at
trial to the murder of Mr Geoghegan. He was found guilty by a jury at
the Central Criminal Court and was given the mandatory life sentence by
Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan on February 16, 2012.