A Dublin man who was killed while out hunting with his dog on farmland in Tallaght earlier this year died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head, an inquest has heard.
A preliminary hearing of the inquest into the death of Keith Bono Greene was opened and adjourned at Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Monday.
Greene (35) a father of four from Kiltalown Park, Tallaght, suffered a fatal injury after being shot on lands at Hazelgrove Farm, Kiltalown Lane, Tallaght on February 22nd, while out hunting rabbits with some friends.
The victim, a dog breeder who was also known as Keith Conlon, died two days later at Tallaght University Hospital after a life support machine was switched off.
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The victim’s dog was also killed by a gunshot during the incident.
A large group of the deceased’s relatives attended the brief hearing at the coroner’s court in Store Street including his mother Lorraine, sisters, Elaine, Michelle, Caitlin and Louise and brother Karl.
Caitlin Conlon gave evidence of formally identifying her brother’s body to gardaí at Tallaght University Hospital.
Garda Eoin Monahan of Tallaght Garda station told the inquest that Greene had been admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit on February 22nd and was pronounced dead at 3.15pm on February 24th.
Det Insp John Walsh applied for an adjournment of the inquest under the Coroners Act on the basis that a person had been charged in relation to Greene’s death and was “before the courts”.
Coroner Cróna Gallagher granted the application and said a date for the full inquest would be fixed once criminal proceedings in relation to the case were completed.
Condolences
Addressing the deceased’s relatives, Dr Gallagher acknowledged that the hearing was a “very difficult” occasion and offered them her condolences.
The coroner said the results of a postmortem had confirmed that Greene had died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head. She said the hearing would allow a death certificate to be issued to the family as the criminal proceedings “might be somewhat lengthy”.
A barrister, Diarmuid Rossa Phelan (53), has been charged with Greene’s murder on farmland near his home on February 22nd.
The law professor and senior counsel was granted bail in April by the Court of Appeal and released on a number of conditions including a surety of €l00,000 after the High Court had initially denied him bail.
The accused is due to appear before Dublin District Court on August 23rd for a further bail hearing and is listed to appear before the same court on September 1st when an update is expected to be provided on directions from the DPP in relation to whether he will face additional charges.