The trial of a Limerick man for the murder of Eddie Ryan snr ended yesterday when the accused pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Ms Mary Ryan, the widow of the dead man, was in the Central Criminal Court when Paul Coffey changed his plea from not guilty to murder to guilty of the manslaughter of her husband.
Mr Ryan (41) was shot 11 times by two gunmen who burst into the Moose Bar in Limerick in November 2000.
Expressing disappointment at yesterday's outcome, Ms Ryan said she hoped those involved in the killing would be brought to justice. "The women and men that he \ named in the statement" were still walking around freely, she added.
When the trial resumed yesterday, the court heard that the DPP had accepted a manslaughter plea. The formal rearraignment was delayed briefly to allow Ms Ryan, who was travelling from Limerick, time to reach the court.
Mr Justice Abbott rejected a defence application for Coffey to be remanded on continuing bail. He said it would be "entirely inappropriate" for him to return to Limerick on bail given the "group tensions" there and the "fraught" background to the case.
To do so "would place the law in a position of low regard with people who have awaited a decisive outcome of these proceedings".
Mr Justice Abbott remanded him in custody for sentencing on October 17th. He also agreed to a psychological assessment after Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC, defending, told the court that the accused had a low IQ.
The trial had heard that Coffey (26), whose last address was Craeval Park, Moyross, was the getaway driver for two gunmen who burst into the Moose Bar on Limerick's Cathedral Street at 10 p.m. on November 12th, 2000, and fired 11 shots at Mr Ryan.
In an interview, Coffey, a father of two, allegedly named the late Kieran Keane as one of the gunmen. He also named the second gunman, along with a others allegedly involved. Neither man was ever charged with the murder.
The trial also heard that Coffey's partner, Ms Michelle Ryan, a relative of the Ryan family, allegedly made a statement to gardaí implicating Coffey in the murder. The defence accepted that Coffey was the driver of the car, but claimed he drove the two men to the pub without knowing what they were going to do.
In statements to gardaí, Coffey said he drove Mr Keane and another named man to the Moose Bar, where the two donned balaclavas and fired shots into the pub. He then dropped them off at a housing estate and afterwards followed Mr Keane's instructions to "get rid" of the car.
The stolen car which had been "hotwired" was later found burned out.