Two men and a teenager found guilty of Thomas Dooley murder in Kerry graveyard
Thomas Sr, 43, and Thomas Jr, 21, both from the halting site, Carrigrohane, Cork, and the teenager have all now been found guilty of murdering father-of-seven, 43-year-old Thomas Dooley (pictured). Picture via Facebook
Father and son Thomas Dooley Senior and Junior have been found guilty of murdering their cousin and namesake at a funeral in October 2022.
The jury have also found a third defendant — the teenager in the case — guilty of murder.
The 10 men and two women took eight hours and 19 minutes across Thursday and Wednesday to reach their unanimous guilty verdicts against the three.
In addition, Thomas Dooley Junior, the only defendant accused of assault causing harm to Tom Dooley’s widow, Siobhán, was also found guilty of that charge.
Thomas Sr, 43, and Thomas Jr, 21, both from the halting site, Carrigrohane, Cork, and the teenager have all now been found guilty of murdering father-of-seven, 43-year-old Tom Dooley from Hazelwood Drive, Killarney, at New Rath Cemetery, Rathass, Tralee, on October 5, 2022.
Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring told the jurors after these verdicts were delivered at 4.09pm on Thursday that they should return to the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork to resume their deliberations at 10am on Friday in respect of Patrick, Daniel and Michael Dooley.
Patrick, 36, from Arbutus Grove, Killarney, Michael, 29, of the halting site, Carrigrohane, Cork, and Daniel, 42, of An Carraigin, Connolly Park, Tralee, County Kerry, all deny murdering Thomas Dooley.
The verdicts against the others on Thursday came on what is Day 31 of the trial which commenced on June 4.
Shortly after lunchtime on Thursday, the jury requested to see a number of exhibits in the case. In effect, they asked to have the clothing of the teenager sent to the jury room.
Jane Hyland, defence senior counsel for the teenager, said in her closing speech to the jury: “The prosecution say to you, there is a droplet of the deceased man’s blood on the bottom right leg of my client’s pants and this shows incontrovertibly that he participated in killing of the deceased man.”
Challenging this, Ms Hyland said a droplet would have been airborne and could have travelled a number of feet, not least given the evidence that blood was squirting from the deceased man’s femoral artery.
As for leaving the graveyard afterwards, Ms Hyland said: “He is running out with the group — this is not an unreasonable reaction where there is this level of carnage, where there is this amount of blood.”
Tom Creed, senior counsel for Thomas Dooley Sr, said in his closing speech: “This is a tragic case. There are no winners in this case. However you decide, Siobhán Dooley will be without a husband, the Dooley children will be without a father.”
Mr Creed said that to conclude that various circumstantial evidence was part of a plan would be speculation by the jury.
Vincent Heneghan, senior counsel for Thomas Dooley Jr, went through the evidence of timing of arrivals on the CCTV and said in his closing speech to the jury: “The time does not exist for Thomas Dooley Jr to attack her and kill Thomas Dooley. He did not attack anybody because he did not have the time.”
He said he did not know how the droplet of blood of the deceased got on to the heel of his client’s shoe but he said that another drop of the dead man’s blood was found on a leaf some distance from the scene. He said they could not speculate.
Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring cautioned the jury out the outset of their deliberations: “It is not a game of dominoes — one down, all down. You must look at the case against each accused. Remember, all six, while admitting they were in the graveyard, they all deny being involved in the acts that led to the death of Thomas Dooley.”
Dean Kelly for the prosecution said: “It is not the prosecution case that I can say whose hand was on the blade when it was driven into Thomas Dooley’s back, whose hand was on the blade that inflicted the chop wound. We don’t say we can identify that hand. We say we can identify the men acting as a single murderous gang. They carried out their role side by side, cheek by jowl.”
In respect of those — on whose charges deliberations will continue — Brendan Grehan, senior counsel for Patrick Dooley, rejected the idea that this was the biblical Cain and Abel story: “He is no Cainite. He did not murder his brother. That has been his position throughout. It is different to his co-accused.
"He has always said and accepted he was there when the attack occurred. His purpose in being there was because others were attacking his bother — his flesh and blood — and that he went there to help him and that he has been mistakenly, intentionally or unintentionally, cast as one of the attackers in this case.”
Brian McInerney, senior counsel for Daniel Dooley, said Siobhán had named in her statement someone who could not possibly have been in the graveyard that day and then testified that she meant Daniel, as the two men are “an awful lot alike” and that she just got confused about the names.
Mr McInerney said she never went to the garda station and said she had made an awful mistake. He said she waited until she was in the witness box and named Danny for the first time when the trial was underway. He said Daniel was not forensically linked to anything, anywhere in the case.
Ray Boland, senior counsel for Michael, said: “Looking at evidence of Siobhán Dooley, she does not have Michael attack her husband. She says she saw Michael behind him with a weapon. I suggest to you he never had a weapon. The prosecution are asking you to rely on that fleeting glance, there is no other evidence.
"To say he is in on this travelling down in a van and back in a van is neither here nor there. He went to the funeral to pay his respects. It is a pity Michael went to the funeral but it is not a crime.”
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