A man accused of murder admitted to gardai he was going to shoot his mother's lover, a jury in the Central Criminal Court was told yesterday. Mr Andrew Brennan (28), of St Munchin's Street, St Mary's Park, Limerick, has denied the murder of Mr Sean Colbert (53), a father of eight, of Lenihan Avenue, Prospect, Limerick, who was killed outside his home on August 9th, 1996.
Mr Brennan's father, Mr Patrick Brennan (53), of St Ita's Street, St Mary's Park, has also denied the murder of Mr Colbert, as has a third accused, Mr William O'Neill (27), of no fixed address but previously of Garryowen, Co Limerick.
After three weeks of legal argument, the trial resumed yesterday, and a statement given to gardai by Mr Andrew Brennan was read out in court.
The statement said that a number of weeks before the shooting Mr Andrew Brennan and a man identified only as Mr X had discussed the affair between Mr Brennan's mother and Mr Colbert. "We decided that we were going to shoot him." The statement said that on the night of the shooting Mr Colbert arrived home in a taxi. "Then X came out from the garden and fired three shots at Colbert."
The statement said Mr Andrew Brennan held a scanner to detect if gardai were approaching. The prosecution alleges that Mr Patrick Brennan had procured his son, Andrew, and Mr O'Neill to kill Mr Colbert, who had been having an affair with his estranged wife.
The trial, before Mr Justice Quirke and a jury of seven men and five women, continues today.