THEY were accomplices in the eyes of the court, but two sisters and another man currently in prison will not face prosecution for their part in the murder of Shane Geoghegan on November 9, 2008 after they turned State witnesses.
It has been well documented what happened that night. Ireland played Canada in a rugby friendly in Thomond Park and the city had a good feel again through its association with sport.
Shane shared in that and watched the game with friends. He texted his girlfriend in the early hours to say he was on his way home. He never made it because a Dublin gun man who fell under the influence of John Dundon shot him five times. Drug dealer Barry Doyle smirked when he was given a life sentence after killing the wrong man.
April Collins was there when it was planned and when the gang discovered the wrong man was shot. Her sister Lisa helped Christopher McCarthy steal the getaway car used and Barry Doyle acted on the instruction of Dundon. They all feared him. They all obeyed him.
The taxpayer must pay for the incarceration of those two scumbags. We must pay for resources to protect the Collins sisters after their evidence helped jail the notorious crime boss John Dundon. That’s the price we pay.
Shane paid the ultimate price for just walking home.
But what price has the Geoghegan family and fiancée, Jenna paid in their collective loss?
You can never calculate that.
1739 days after the popular rugby player was shot dead yards from his home, justice was served and a terrible case was closed.
An Garda Siochana in Limerick has tackled serious crime head on and won.
On Tuesday last, John Dundon sat in court, disregarded etiquette and showed no remorse except to instruct his counsel to say to the court that he deeply regretted the death of Shane Geoghegan. All of this while he listened to rap music on headphones so he would not react to the judgement he believes is based on a tissue of lies. Pathetic.
However, Mary Geoghegan, Shane’s mother, was the antipode of Dundon’s character and manner as she painstakingly sat through three separate trials to hear the evidence of how her much-loved innocent son was murdered.
She didn’t need headphones to keep calm, she has strength of character, resilience, patience and the support of a city, a county and a country behind her.
Simply put, she said “the facts of the case speak for themselves”.
