Two men to face sentencing for roles in botched robbery in which man died

Two men will be sentenced later for their roles in a botched drug dealer robbery which left a man dead.

Michael Farrell (aged 26) and Philip Furlong (aged 25) agreed to help their drug dealer friend, who was heavily in debt, to rob another dealer of €80,000 by staging what is known as a "rip-off".

Detective Sergeant Barry Butler explained to prosecution counsel, Ms Anne-Marie Lawlor BL, that a "rip-off" is a meeting between parties buying and selling large amounts of drugs.

He said Farrell, Furlong, their dealer friend and another man arranged to meet third parties in a lane off Cherryfield Road, Crumlin around 9pm on December 12, 2007 on a pretence of selling 40kg of cannabis resin for €80,000.

Det Sgt Butler said Furlong, a former plant and tool hire firm driver of Cromwellsfort Road, Crumlin, brought an air-pistol to the scene to intimidate the men they planned to rob.

The fourth man in their party brought a knife and ended up stabbing to death one of the two men who turned up at the "rip-off". This unnamed individual is currently before the Central Criminal Court.

Furlong and Farrell, of Lake Glade, Kilminchy, Portlaoise, both pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possessing a firearm with intent to commit robbery.

Det Sgt Butler said Furlong claimed he had been promised €5,000 for the job, had never intended to use his imitation gun and did not "imagine" a man would be killed at the scene.

Farrell claimed he was also offered money but turned it down, deciding simply to give his now-deceased friend "a hand" sorting his financial problems.

Det Sgt Butler said the men used Farrell’s car to drive to the meeting place when the vehicle they’d initially planned to use got a puncture.

Det Sgt Butler agreed with Mr Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending former karate teacher Farrell, that his client turned down the money offer for the job and had just wanted "to help a friend who was in desperate straits".

He agreed that the father-of-two was a "decent man" who was fully cooperative and helpful to gardai by giving them background information to assist with their investigations.

He agreed with Mr Remy Farrell BL, defending Furlong, that his client was "very upset" during garda interviews and claimed he was "absolutely devastated" about the incident.

Mr Farrell submitted to Judge Desmond Hogan that his client, who isn’t involved in the drugs trade, and his co-accused embarked on a "misguided attempt to help their friend."

Judge Hogan noted that both men have no previous convictions besides minor road traffic matters and put the case back for sentencing later this year pending probation reports.