'Some unpleasantness' between groups at Shannon nightclub before Limerick man was killed

Accused has pleaded not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter

The prosecution on Tuesday outlined the evidence they expect to call in the next week of the trial of 23-year-old Nathan O’Neill, who denies murder but admits manslaughter. Picture: Larry Cummins 

A young Limerick man was stabbed and killed in a Shannon nightclub in the early hours of celebrations after the St Patrick’s Day Grand Slam win by the Irish rugby team in 2018.

The prosecution on Tuesday outlined the evidence they expect to call in the next week of the trial of 23-year-old Nathan O’Neill, who denies murder but admits manslaughter.

Nathan O’Neill of Hill Top Drive, Dooradoyle, Limerick, is on trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork.

On the first charge of murdering Jamie Higgins at the Shannon Knights licensed premises at Tullyvarraga, Shannon, Co Clare, on March 18, 2018, he replied: “Not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.” He pleaded guilty to causing serious harm to Michael Shannon.

Prosecution opening address

In his opening address to the jury, prosecution senior counsel Dean Kelly said: “Your job has been streamlined to a degree — perhaps to a considerable degree — by his response to charges. His response to the charge that he murdered Jamie Higgins was: ‘Not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter’.

“He accepts a number of things: that he killed and caused the death of Jamie Higgins; he further accepts that was unlawful. Manslaughter is a killing which falls short of murder.

“You might ask the question — what are we here for? You heard him respond to causing serious harm to Mr Shannon. He accepts that.

“The two incidents are in the same couple of seconds — he caused serious harm to Mr Shannon [and caused the death of Mr Higgins].

“For the crime of murder you must intend to kill someone or intend at the very least to cause them serious harm. That ultimately is the beating heart of the decision that you have to make.

“It is a day that anyone of us could have been involved with being out and about. The day before it was St Patrick’s Day, the day the Irish rugby team played England in the final game of the Six Nations and we beat England and won the Grand Slam. Young people involved in this case would have been out and about meeting friends, socialising and having a few drinks.” 

Mr Kelly said the accused man, Nathan O’Neill, was at his girlfriend’s house until about 11.30pm and they got a taxi from Limerick City out to Shannon. 

'Some unpleasantness'

Mr Kelly said there may have been “some unpleasantness” between the group which the deceased and the injured party Mr Shannon were in, and the group in which Nathan O’Neill was socialising.

The prosecution senior counsel said the accused was coming from the smoking area at about 2 am when there was a scuffle between the accused and the other two parties, Mr Shannon and the late Mr Higgins, that lasted no more than a few seconds and that the two men received stab wounds.

“Mr Higgins was removed as quickly as humanly possible to hospital but tragically was declared dead at 3.20 or 3.30am in hospital.

“Mr O’Neill accepts he caused those stab wounds. The question for you to consider is whether he intended to cause serious injury or to kill Mr Higgins,” Dean Kelly SC said.

The trial before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and the six women and six men of the jury continues.