The family of murdered student Nicola Furlong have called for justice for her uncle after an inquest yesterday found he died as a result of unlawful killing.
James (Jim) Doyle (40), from Clonsilla in Gorey, Co Wexford, was killed when he sustained massive head injuries after he was attacked by three men outside a nightclub in the early hours of November 14th, 2009.
The inquest came just three weeks after Ms Furlong was killed in a Tokyo hotel room. Mr Doyle was the brother of Nicola Furlong’s mother, Angela Doyle.
The deceased’s second cousin Neil Doyle told Dublin Coroner’s Court how they both had become involved in a fight with three other men after words were exchanged when walking home from a nightclub in Gorey.
Bystander Liz Byrne said Mr Doyle had fought back but was knocked to the ground where she saw him being kicked. When she went to help Mr Doyle, his eyes were open but he did not respond.
Mr Doyle was taken to Wexford General Hospital and transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin where he died two days later.
Deputy State Pathologist Dr Khalid Jabbar found Mr Doyle’s skull had been fractured.
Det Sgt Murth Whelan told the court two of the men involved in the fight admitted to punching Mr Doyle on the head. Both were among three men charged and convicted of affray at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court, he said.
The jury returned a verdict of death by unlawful killing.
Speaking outside the court, Mr Doyle’s sister Elizabeth Larkin called on the DPP to revisit the case.