A fifth person has been found guilty of the murder of Killarney man Thomas Dooley in Rath Cemetery in October 2022.
The dead man’s cousin, 29-year-old Michael Dooley of the Halting site, Carrigrohane Road in Cork, has now been found guilty by a unanimous jury verdict after 17 hours of deliberations.
It follows a month-long trial at the Central Criminal Court in Cork.
The jury will continue its deliberations on Thursday for the remaining defendant, 42-year-old Daniel Dooley of An Caraigin, Connolly Park, Tralee.
The late Thomas Dooley, his wife and their four youngest children had travelled from their home in Hazelwood Drive, Ballyspillane in Killarney on the 5th October 2022 to attend their friend's funeral when it is alleged he was set upon by a group of six armed men.
Six accused stood trial at the Central Criminal Court in Cork, which started on 4th June, and involved substitute jurors who were only discharged when deliberations began.
Prosecutors claimed that Thomas Dooley died in an “honour killing” after tension arose when one of the late Mr Dooley’s daughters ended her relationship with one of the accused men.
Last Thursday, the deceased man’s first cousin and brother-in-law, 43-year-old Thomas Dooley Snr of the Halting Site, Carrigrohane Road in Cork was found guilty of the murder after around eight hours of deliberations.
At the same time, the jury found the deceased’s nephew, 21-year-old Thomas Dooley Jr, also of Carrigrohane Road in Cork, guilty of murder and guilty of assault causing harm to his widow Siobhan Dooley on the same date.
A juvenile was also found guilty of the murder at the same time, but he cannot be named because of his age.
Then, on Friday, the deceased’s brother, 36-year-old Patrick Dooley of Arbutus Grove, Killarney, became the fourth person to be found guilty of Thomas Dooley’s murder, after another four hours of deliberations.
Today, 29-year-old Michael Dooley of the Halting site, Carrigrohane Road in Cork was found guilty of the murder of his cousin.
Ray Boland, senior counsel for Michael, had said that his client went to the funeral to pay his respects to the deceased and had “no hand or part” in the crime.
Deliberations resume in relation to the final remaining defendant on Thursday.
