The man accused of murdering rugby player Shane Geoghegan admitted that he shot him but wouldn't say why, his trial heard.
Barry Doyle (25), with addresses at Portland Row, Dublin; and Hyde Road, Limerick, has
pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Geoghegan on November 9th, 2008.
The 28-year-old rugby player was shot dead in a suspected case of mistaken identity across the road from his home in Clonmore, Kilteragh, Dooradoyle.
The jury returned to the Central Criminal Court today after an absence of two weeks, during which legal argument took place.
The seven men and five women heard that Mr Doyle was arrested on suspicion of the
murder on the morning of February 24th 2009 and taken to Bruff Garda Station in Limerick.
Detective Sergeant Mark Philips of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation was
among the officers who interviewed him over the following days. He outlined for the jury the interview he conducted on the evening of February 26th, after Mr Doyle had a lengthy
consultation with his solicitor.
"Yeah, I shot him," said the defendant, when asked if he was involved in Mr Geoghegan's
murder.
"I seen someone walking across the estate. I got out of the car and shot him. He ran,"
explained the accused. "I chased him around the back of the house. I shot him again." He
was asked if Mr Geoghegan had said anything.
"Please stop," he replied.
"How many shots did you fire? We have to know you're telling the truth," explained the
detectives.
"I'm not going to admit to a murder I didn't do," he replied. However, when asked again, he said he had shot the rugby player seven or eight times.
He was asked if he felt any better after telling the truth.
"It doesn't take back what I did," he replied.
He said that the rugby player was half way across the road when he fired at him first but
that he then ran into one of the back gardens.
"I was looking around the cars… I heard heavy breathing," he said, confirming that he then
chased the deceased into the garden.
He said that Mr Geoghegan was "on the ground, up against the wall" when he shot him twice in the head.
The accused later stood up and lent against a wall to show how the rugby player was
leaning when he shot him in the garden.
He explained that he had been facing Mr Geoghegan when he shot him and as close to him
as he was to the detectives across the table.
He indicated with his outstretched right hand how he had shot him in the head, explained
the detective. The accused said he thought he had hit him before this as well.
"He was holding his side," he explained. He said that the rugby player had seen him the first time he shot at him. "He just turned and ran," he said. He was then asked if anything had happened to the gun at that point.
"It jammed… I tried to shoot. It didn't click," he said, explaining that this happened twice or three times. "I pulled it back." He said that he had never met Shane Geoghegan before and he was sorry he had shot him. He said he hadn't taken any drugs or drunk anything before he shot him.
When asked why he had denied any involvement in earlier interviews, he said: "I was
thinking of my family." He finished the interview by repeating that he was sorry.
Detective Garda Gerry Hogan, who had arrested Mr Doyle, testified that he interviewed him about an hour later.
He said that Mr Doyle accepted that Mr Geoghegan was an innocent man and was then
asked to explain why he'd been shot.
"Sorry I can't help ye," he replied. "I shot him. That's all." He was told that the victim's
family deserved to know.
"I shot him. I'm going to get what I deserve," he said. "I'm not afraid of anyone," he said when asked. "Why did that boy die? What are you hiding from?" he was asked.
"I'm not hiding from anything," he insisted, telling the Det Garda Hogan that he was wasting his time. "I'm not wasting my time… I'll be here waiting," said the detective.
"I'll be here as well. It's either here or a prison cell and it's all the same to me," he said.
"You can ask me until next week." However he accepted that the shooting had been a
mistake. "I'll probably get life," he said.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul Carney.