Jury in Doneraile murder trial begins deliberations

Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford told the jury that the issue they have to decide is whether each defendant is guilty of murder. 

The Doneraile murder trial jury commenced their deliberations at 11.33am on Tuesday.

The jury was sworn in for the trial on Wednesday, June 3, and the trial opened on June 4.

20-year-old Alex Deady of Glenview, Convent Road, Doneraile, County Cork, and a 17-year-old each face a charge of murdering 44-year-old postman Barry Daly at Rockview Terrace in Doneraile on October 12 2025. 

Alex Deady and the 17-year-old pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter, at the outset of the trial.

Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford told the jury that the issue they have to decide is whether each defendant is guilty of murder. 

The jurors were reminded that a simple not guilty verdict is not available to him, as each defendant has already entered a plea of guilty to manslaughter. So for the avoidance of doubt they were told that they must decide in each case if the accused is guilty of murder or not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.

Ms Justice Lankford said that they must be unanimous in their decision on each defendant.

The jury now consists of six women and five men. One juror was thanked for her commitment to the case and discharged from further service on the jury on Monday, as she was unable to continue in the trial.

The jury no longer has to consider the case against a third accused. On June 24 the third defendant, who is 16, entered a plea of guilty for the first time, in the following terms, “Not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter,” and this plea to manslaughter was acceptable to the DPP.