Geoghegan murder jury sees video of accused man admitting shooting

The jury in the Shane Geoghegan murder trial has seen a video of the accused man admitting to Mr Geoghegan’s shooting.

Barry Doyle (aged 26) of Portland Row, Dublin is on trial charged with murdering the 28-year-old rugby player on November 9, 2008.

The father-of-three has pleaded not guilty to murdering him at Clonmore, Kilteragh, Dooradoyle in Limerick. The Garryowen player was shot near his home in a case of mistaken identity.

The jury of eight men and three women yesterday watched a garda interview conducted with Barry Doyle in February 2009, two days after his arrest.

The Central Criminal Court already heard that he had denied any involvement in the crime in his first 14 interviews, after which he had a lengthy consultation with his solicitor.

Detective Garda Mark Philips and Detective Garda Brian Hanley of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation then began interview 15.

He was asked to tell the truth.

“Barry, were you involved in the murder of Shane Geoghegan?” he was asked.

“Yeah, I shot him,” he responded.

“I saw someone walking across the estate. I got out of the car. I shot at him. He ran,” he said. “I chased him around the back of the houses. I shot him again.”

He was asked if Shane Geoghegan had said anything to him.

“Please stop,” he replied.

He was asked how many shots he had fired.

“We have to know you’re telling the truth,” the detectives explained.

“I’m not going to admit to a murder I didn’t do,” he replied.

He then said he had fired seven or eight shots.

He was asked if he felt any better after telling the truth.

“It doesn’t take back what I did,” he replied.

Barry Doyle described the clothes he had been wearing that night and said he had burned them.

He also drew a map of the crime scene, pointing out where Shane Geoghegan was when he saw him.

“I got out of the car and I shot at him,” he said, pointing to the map. “I took aim and I shot… one handed, right hand.”

He said the rugby player was halfway across the road at that stage and that this was the first time he had seen Barry Doyle.

He said Mr Geoghegan just turned and ran.

“I just left off a few and went after him again,” he said.

“I was looking around the cars,” he explained. “I heard heavy breathing.”

He found Shane Geoghegan in a back garden.

“What happened then?” he was asked.

“I shot him,” he replied, explaining that the victim had pleaded with him to stop before he shot him twice in the head. He said Mr Geoghegan was on the ground, against the wall of the house.

He was asked how close he had got to Mr Geoghegan and he explained that it was the same distance from himself to the detectives across the table.

At one point he held his right hand outstretched to show how he held the gun.

He said he thought he had hit him before he shot him in the back garden because the rugby player was holding his side.

Gardaíi asked him if anything had happened to the gun and he said it had jammed two or three times while he was standing on the road.

“I tried to shoot and it didn’t click,” he said. “I pulled it back.”

He was asked if he was sorry he had shot Mr Geoghegan and he said he was. He was asked if this was because the wrong person was shot.

“I’m just sorry I did it,” he replied.

“My head was all over the place,” he said, when asked how he felt afterwards.

He said that he had lied in the previous interviews because he was thinking of his family.

D Gda Philips testified that after the interview was over and the tapes turned off, Barry Doyle took a set of white, plastic rosary beads from around his neck and left them on the table.

He said his exact words were: “Will you give them to Shane Geoghegan’s Ma.”

D Gda Philips held up the beads for the jury to see.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan.