Funeral murder charge dropped

A 33-year-old man had a murder charge against him dropped today at the Central Criminal Court.

The State entered a Nolle Prosequi, deciding not to proceed with the case against Martin McDonagh, formerly with an address at Hampstead, England.

Mr McDonagh was accused of the murder of Patrick Ward on May 10 1999, after a funeral in Ballymote, Co Sligo.

In February 2002, he had been found guilty of the murder at the Central Criminal Court, but in October 2003, the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned the conviction, amid allegations of heavy drinking and sexual misconduct involving members of the gardaí and jurors.

During the appeal, the court heard that some members of the jury had been drinking in their hotel bar with two gardaí until about 2am. A female juror alleged that one of the gardaí then came to her hotel room and sexually assaulted her. The three-judge court found that the members’ conduct rendered Mr McDonagh’s conviction unsatisfactory, and directed there should be a retrial.

Late last year, five other men, also accused of Patrick Ward’s murder, were found not guilty after a six-week trial at the Central Criminal Court.

Today, Mr Justice Paul Carney accepted the Nolle Prosequi, and Mr McDonagh left the court with his presumption of innocence intact.