A Cavan man has been found guilty of murdering a mother of one on the front lawn of her home a day after she testified in court against his friend.
The jury took just an hour to find Brendan McGahern (28) with an address at Corlismore in Co Cavan, guilty of murdering Amy Farrell (21) at Glenlara, Cavan, on January 20th, 2006.
Ms Farrell's family openly wept as the foreman read the verdict at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.
Mr Justice Paul Carney sentenced McGahern to the mandatory life term without leave for appeal for the fatal stabbing of Ms Farrell. "These cases are distressing for everybody concerned," he said.
Ms Farrell's father addressed the court after the verdict saying he did not want to sound like an angry or grief stricken parent but he is all of those things.
"I never thought we'd see the day that I would be standing in court trying to paint a picture, so publicly of our most cherished daughter, but here I am," Mr Farrell said.
He told the court his daughter had been born with a birthmark on the left hand side of her face and was bullied throughout her school life.
"Amy did what she was brought up to do and what she would have wanted to do, she saw a crime and reported it," he said.
"This shows her character, resilience and determination to always do the right thing."
During the seven-day trial the court heard Ms Farrell had moved to Cavan from Leixlip, Co Kildare in November 2005 to live with her best friend Sharon Cosgrove.
During the six weeks the young mother lived in the town she became associated with a Brendan Kelly who was friends with McGahern.
On January 19th, the day before McGahern killed her, Ms Farrell gave evidence in the Virginia District Court against Kelly who had assaulted her and stolen two of her cars.
McGahern was at court with the defendant and his girlfriend Stephanie Cahill when Kelly was sentenced to 16 months in Castlerea Prison in Co Roscommon.
Gardaí submitted evidence during the Farrell trial showing a mobile phone registered to Ms Cahill was used in the Castlerea area and the number corresponded with a contact named "Brendan" in McGahern's phone.
McGahern has strenuously denied Kelly had any involvement or influence in what happened and Kelly refused to answer Garda questions about the phone.
The court heard Ms Farrell left McGahern in her home on the days she was murdered and that he had accidentally locked her out of the house when went out to get babysitting money for her niece.
She had called him an "idiot" afterwards and they had laughed, the court heard. Ms Farrell then went to get another set of house keys off Miss Cosgrove.
McGahern returned later that evening when Ms Farrell and Anthony Gerard Smith, who gave evidence, was also present.
Mr Smith said McGahern asked to speak with Ms Farrell outside and moments later he heard Ms Farrell screaming. He rushed out and found her on the ground with McGahern standing over her.
"I saw him strike her but it was only when he stood back that I realised what he was doing," Mr Smith said during the trial. He saw a knife in McGahern's hand.
"During the time he was standing over her 'don't f*** with us' he was saying," Mr Smith said.
He told Mr Alex Owens SC for the Director of Public Prosecutions that he saw McGahern run off towards Cavan town, as Ms Farrell lay motionless.
McGahern had pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but the DPP refused to accept the plea.
Mr David Kennedy SC for McGahern said his client was suffering from a mental illness at the time that substantially diminished his responsibility for the killing.
McGahern parents, Eileen and Brendan senior told the court during the trial their son was illiterate, had been bullied as a child and was always different. Evidence was given McGahern had a learning disability but psychologists who gave evidence told the court they did not believe it had impacted on Ms Farrell's death.
Mr Kennedy said McGahern wanted Ms Farrell's family and the court to know he was sorry for what he did and he regretted what happened.