Life sentence ‘proof that gardaí have mastered gangs’
Cllr John Gilligan, who was mayor of the city at the time of the murder, said the conviction and jailing of Dundon was hugely significant.
He said: “These people can no longer hide behind hired gunmen, or drug-crazed youngsters, and today’s events prove that their crimes will eventually come back to their own doorstep.
“Those who ordered this mayhem will be brought to account and that process is now established. The person who shot Shane Geoghegan has been sentenced for murder and the person who sent him has now been sentenced for murder, and that is as it should be.”
Willie O’Dea, who was Minister for Defence at the time of the murder and who played a key role in getting the ERU and other specialist units deployed to assist local gardaí after the Shane Geoghegan murder, said: “After this murder there was a terrible frustration, anger, and even fear, with people in Limerick thinking things were getting out of control. Today’s events will reassure people the representatives of law and order are in control. Over the past few years the gardaí in the Limerick division have been one of the most successful in the world in tackling gangland crime.”
Mayor of Limerick Kathleen Leddin said: “Today’s decision brings to a conclusion what has been a very difficult, prolonged campaign for justice by the family of Shane Geoghegan, a much loved, honest and respected member of the local community.
“Shane represented all that is good about our community by making the difference to the lives of others.’
Fianna Fáil justice spokesman Niall Collins said: ‘When you look at the Shane Geoghegan murder, to think that this individual, Barry Doyle, was sent to murder a person he did not know, this was the cavalier attitude these people took to life. The murder galvanised people of Limerick and the country, that we had to face down this as a unified force. People are now relieved when they see the big players going down.”
