Tipperary man found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter of Teddy Murnane, 80

Seán Hardin's plea of guilty to manslaughter was not accepted by the DPP and he was put on trial for murder

Teddy Murnane: Family will have an opportunity to give their victim impact statement

The Tipperary man on trial for murdering a pensioner during a burglary was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter on Friday after two days of jury deliberations.

Seán Harding, aged 32, of Marian Terrace, Tipperary Town, said he was not guilty of murder but was guilty of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Timothy (Teddy) Murnane at St Michael’s Avenue in Tipperary Town on September 12, 2025, at the outset of this trial. 

However, that plea of guilty to manslaughter was not accepted by the DPP and he was put on trial for murder. 

The accused also admitted three charges related to burglary on the occasion.

The verdict by the jury of seven women and five men was by a 10-2 majority following a total of seven hours and 40 minutes of deliberations.

Judge Siobhán Lankford thanked the jurors at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork and excused them from any further jury service for the next five years.

“Thank you very much for your attention over what was undoubtedly a difficult but important trial. We are very grateful for your service on the jury,” she said. 

The sentencing hearing will take place on Monday, November 9, in which the family of the deceased will have an opportunity to give their victim impact statement, the prosecution will outline the background the case, and the defence will have an opportunity to make any submissions in mitigation. 

The judge made it clear that while all of this evidence could be given on Monday, the actual sentencing for the crime of manslaughter would not take place until a later date when she had time to consider all matters.

'Million miles away from intending to murder'

The defence said it was low and mean to go thieving from the pensioner’s shed but “it was a million miles away from intending to murder".

The prosecution senior counsel said in his speech: “Intention can be formed in the spur of the moment… You can infer from the nature of the force used that he intended the natural and probable consequences of his actions.” 

Prosecution senior counsel Karl Finnegan said intention was the issue in this case, particularly where the accused man had already admitted the unlawful killing, by pleading guilty to manslaughter.

Mr Finnegan said the jury could consider and assess this movement in the interviews from denial to admissions, until the accused eventually said: “I am after killing someone, I didn’t mean it.” 

Mr Finnegan said this statement showed the accused acknowledging that he caused the death but denying the intention to do so.

He invited the jury to consider the defensive injuries on the deceased man’s arms and the age difference at the time of the encounter between the defendant and the deceased.

Dean Kelly, senior counsel for the accused, said of his client: “His conduct was low, vile, and squalid. He was creeping around his neighbourhood, 150m from his own home, bent on stealing possessions bought through the hard work of his neighbours. 

"But that unappealing description does not make him a murderer… He is a murderer only if you decided he intended to murder him or cause him serious injury.” 

He said there was nothing trivial about the crime of manslaughter to which the defendant had pleaded guilty.

Mr Kelly asked the jury to consider the evidence of the defendant’s older brother Justin Harding who said, in relation to his brother going to the Murnane’s shed to carry out a burglary: “It is like something he would do. He is robbing sheds all his life. He is fucking stupid… He is not a violent robber. He is just a robber — do you know what I’m trying to say.” 

He also referred to the defendant’s assertion to gardaí: “I did not mean to hurt that man.”