Four-year term sought for man over stabbing death

A defence barrister asked for her client to be handed a sentence of no more than four years after he was convicted of stabbing a man to death during a row over a €100 debt.

William Gilsenan, aged 24, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter in December for the killing of Edward Fitzgerald, 29, in a car park outside the killer’s home at The Green, Larch Hill, Oscar Traynor Road, Santry, Dublin 17.

At a sentencing hearing yesterday morning, Gilsenan told the court that he was ashamed of what he did. Addressing Justice Paul Butler he said he had destroyed a family and “would never live it down”. He added: “I’d like to apologise to the family but due to shame I wouldn’t be able to look them in their faces.”