A father of two jailed for 12 years for blasting four shots into a relative’s house where infant twins were sleeping has failed in his bid to overturn his conviction.
Larry O'Connor, of The Lodge, Great National Hotel, Ballykisteen, Co Tipperary, was convicted of shooting at his cousin's house after pleading not guilty to six charges related to the incident.
The 40-year-old fired two shots using a pump-action shotgun at the home of his first cousin, Danny Harty. He then entered the house and fired two more shots.
Mr Harty and his partner, Noreen Dooley, and their 10-month-old twins, were asleep in an upstairs bedroom at Deelside, The Quay, Askeaton, Co Limerick, during the attack at around 3.30am, on July 13th, 2019.
O’Connor had pleaded not guilty to recklessly discharging a firearm, possession of a firearm and ammunition, aggravated burglary and criminal damage but was convicted by a jury on all counts after a two-week trial.
He was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment by Judge Patrick Meghan at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court in May 2022.
He had appealed his conviction on a single ground - that the trial judge erred in law in permitting background evidence of a prejudicial nature, arguing there was no evidence of a feud or "bad feeling" between the Limerick cousins in the case.
At the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, President of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham said the three-judge court had not been persuaded by the arguments advanced in relation to the sole ground of appeal relied on “that the trial was unsatisfactory or the verdict unsafe”.
In dismissing the application, the court noted that where the identity of a perpetrator is an issue, the presence or absence of a motive would be a matter for the consideration of the jury.
Circumstantial evidence
Mr Justice Birmingham said the presence of a motive would be a piece of circumstantial evidence that is capable of being weighed in the balance.
He said the court had expressed their view that, in a case where witnesses were extremely well acquainted with those they had recognised, it would have been “unreal” for the jury to be prevented from hearing about the relationship between the occupants of the house and the alleged assailants.
The trial heard that Larry O’Connor was driven to and from the scene by his older brother Daniel O’Connor of Hassett's Villas, Thomondgate, Limerick.
Larry O’Connor fired shots from outside the two-storey house, hitting gutters just above a balcony near the victim's bedroom.
He then broke into the house, firing a shot into the kitchen, hitting a fridge and a window, and fired a shot through a ceiling onto the first floor, where the victims had been asleep.
Daniel O’Connor was jailed for seven years with the final year suspended. He pleaded guilty to one count of burglary with intent to commit the reckless discharge of a firearm during the early stages of the trial.
Garda witnesses said they believed the shooting was linked to “animosity” between the cousins.
