An appeal by a Limerick man against his conviction for the murder of a father of four children has been dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Derek McNamara (38), St Ita's Street, St Mary's Park, a father of six described as a central figure in Limerick's criminal underworld, was convicted last year at the Central Criminal Court of the murder of Martin O'Donoghue (35) at Broad Street, Limerick on August 9th, 2004.
Mr Justice Paul Carney imposed the mandatory life sentence.
Today, the three judge CCA, consisting of Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan presiding, Mr Justice Kevin Feeney and Ms Justice Mary Irvine, dismissed McNamara's appeal.
It was brought on grounds including that Mr Justice Carney had erred by not discharging the jury when pictures appeared on RTE television showing McNamara in custody and in chains while he was being brought to the courthouse at the time of his trial.
Dismissing the appeal, Mr Justice Finnegan said the CCA was satisfied the jury was properly charged by the trial judge. There was also no evidence that TV footage have influenced their decision.
Last November, the Central Criminal Court heard Mr O'Donoghue was stabbed to death outside a bar known as The Pub, on Broad Street, in Limerick.
The prosecution said that although McNamara had not carried out the "physical act" of stabbing the man, he was as liable as if he had the knife himself. The jury was told that another man had stabbed Mr O'Donoghue after he had been assaulted by the accused.
After the verdict was returned, Garda Supt John Scanlon said McNamara had 22 previous convictions and was a "central figure" in Limerick's criminal underworld.
Supt Scanlon said the murder of Mr O'Donoghue was not connected to the Limerick feud and was not drugs related.