Man wanted Geoghegan mum to have rosary beads

THE man who admitted shooting rugby player Shane Geoghegan gave gardaí rosary beads to give to Mr Geoghegan’s mother, his trial has heard.

Former bricklayer Barry Doyle, aged 25, took the white, plastic beads from around his neck shortly after making the admission in Bruff Garda Station in Limerick.

The father-of-three with addresses at Portland Row, Dublin; and Hyde Road, Limerick, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Geoghegan on November 9, 2008.

The 28-year-old was shot dead in a suspected case of mistaken identity across the road from his home in Clonmore, Kilteragh, Dooradoyle.

Detective Sergeant Mark Philips of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation was giving evidence yesterday of an interview he conducted with Mr Doyle on February 27, 2008.

It was his second day in the witness box at the Central Criminal Court trial.

“The previous night when we had completed our interview with Barry Doyle, he took a set of white, plastic rosary beads from around his neck, threw them on the interview table and asked us would we give them to Shane Geoghegan’s mother,” he explained of a reference in the interview notes.

“Are you religious?” asked the detectives of Mr Doyle.

“Not really,” he responded.

“Do you believe in God?” he was asked.

“I do and I don’t,” he said.

Mr Doyle was asked if he admitted the shooting because he felt guilty.

“My bird was involved as well,” he replied.

“Was your intention to kill the person you shot?” he was asked.

“I told you I shot him. I followed him and I shot him,” he responded.

Later he was asked: “Obviously it was your intention to kill him. Is that fair to say?”

“Yeah,” he responded.

The accused marked on a map the garden into which he chased Mr Geoghegan.

“I seen Shane up against the wall… I leaned over and shot him… Twice, just twice in the head,” he explained.

“He asked me to stop,” he said, adding that he said nothing to Mr Geoghegan.

“He sort of fell down,” he continued. “He was leaning against the wall when I shot him and he just slid down.”

He would not tell the detectives anything about the gun or who was in the stolen car to which he ran, but he denied that he was in fear.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said, while agreeing that the others involved should pay too.

He agreed that he regretted the shooting and that he would turn back the clock if he could.