Reacting to the conviction of John Dundon for the murder of Shane Geoghegan, Independent city councillor John Gilligan said: “they said that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time but how could you be in the wrong place at the wrong time if you are a hundred yards from your own house.
“It simply goes to show the complete callousness of the people who sent other people out to kill”.
“I’m absolutely delighted. I had spoken to the gardai at the time and they said that they weren’t going to just get the person who pulled the trigger, what they were looking for was the people who pointed the finger. These people were equally as guilty if not more so and today’s sentence will reflect that,” added the former mayor.
“Justice has been done and is seen to be done – it was a long time coming for the family and a long time coming on behalf of the people of Limerick city”.
The Independent Councillor who was mayor during some of the city’s most violent incidents insisted Shane Geoghegan must be remembered as a decent hardworking person who was loved by all who met him.
“I don’t want to remember him in conjunction with the scumbags who murdered him,” the former Mayor said.
Cllr Gilligan said John Dundon’s conviction for the murder of an innocent young man, reinforces how Limerick people “will no longer cow down under gun law for anybody.
“For far too long the name of Limerick was besmirched by these people and it seemed to become synonymous with the whole question of crime and violence particularly gun law.”
He said the crime situation in Limerick has altered dramatically in a short number of years.
“When John Fitizgerald came to Limerick city the first thing he insisted before any regeneration took place was that we were short 100 gardai. We got 100 gardai, they took on the task with renewed vigour and I’m delighted to say it is now accepted that they have smashed all the major drug gangs in Limerick.
“You will always have problems where you have illicit drugs but Limerick city has now become one of the safest cities in Europe and that’s due to the extra gardai. You can’t have policing on the cheap it simply doesn’t work…”
Limerick’s most senior garda, Chief Superintendent Dave Sheahan presented figures to a recent meeting of the joint policing committee revealing the huge crackdown on serious crime and highlighting how Limerick city has not witnessed a murder in more than 19 months.
Stressing the importance of an adequately resourced police force Cllr Gilligan warned there are other criminals “equally as vicious waiting in the wings”.
“Unless we actually have the police force who are there in numbers and who are sufficiently motivated there are other people waiting in the wings. One has gone away today but there are other people waiting to take their place who would be equally as vicious if we allowed them to do it, but we are not going to allow them to do it and quite determined of that.”
Chairman of the Joint Policing Committee in Limerick, Councillor Michael Hourigan, said the murder of Shane Geogheghan created outrage in the city.
“People were so shocked by what happened. Shane Geogheghan represented all that was good about Limerick,” he said.
The Fine Gael Councillor paid tribute to the work of gardai in bringing closure to the case and said the bravery of the witnesses involved must also be acknowledged.
“That will actually reassure the people of Limerick that people are not afraid to go into the court and stand up and be counted and we need that message to go out to the people involved in criminal activity that the ordinary citizens of Limerick city and ordinary people are prepared to say their piece in the court,” he said.
Fianna Fail TD, Willie O’Dea said that he has long praised the gardai in Limerick and added that they are “probably the most successful force in the world” in tackling serious crime. He added that Limerick was now a much safer place.
In echoing the praise and diligence of An Garda Siochana and Chief Superintendent Dave Sheahan for bringing the murderers to justice, Kieran Ryan, a founding member of the Shane Geoghegan Trust, said that even the guilty verdict is “scant consolation to the family and friends who lost Shane in a mindless act of violence”.
Mayor of Limerick Cllr Kathleen Leddin said the verdict brought closure to a difficult and prolonged campaign for justice by the family and friends of Shane Geoghegan, “a much loved, honest and respected member of the local community”.
“Shane represented all that is good about our local community by making a difference to the lives of others. His death was mourned not only here in Limerick, but across the country and further afield,” she said.
After waiting 1,739 days since his murder, the Geoghegan family along with his mother Mary, brother Anthony, fiancée Jenna and the people of Limerick who were shocked and appalled at the callous killing have answers as to who shot Shane Geoghegan and who ordered the hit.
He may have “deeply regretted” the death of the rugby player, but John Dundon is set to appeal the verdict as he believes it is a tissue of lies.
However, murderers Barry Doyle and John Dundon are now serving life sentences and Limerick city is a much safer place in its wake but the grief of the killing will always remain.
