Inquest held 16 years after murder

An inquest has heard how a Cork man died after being slashed across the throat in a pub in Ennis, Co Clare, 16 years ago.

At Ennis courthouse a jury heard evidence yesterday of how Robert Lynch (22) from Bantry, Co Cork, died after being attacked by Shannon man Christopher Cooney in an unprovoked assault in the Banner Arms pub in February 1991.

Earlier this year it emerged that the constituency office of Fianna Fáil junior minister Tony Killeen had made representations seeking the early release of Cooney, who received a life sentence in 1992.

Mr Killeen said he was unaware of the representations and he travelled to Cork last January to personally apologise to Mr Lynch's mother, Nora.

At the inquest yesterday, State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy gave evidence of a postmortem examination carried out by her predecessor, Prof John Harbison in 1991.

She said it found that he suffered only one wound, a large deep cut across his neck. It concluded that Mr Lynch, a market gardener, died as a result of an inhalation of blood due to an incise wound in his larynx.

Cooney was convicted of the murder of Mr Lynch and the jury yesterday recorded a verdict in accordance with the verdict at the Central Criminal Court.

Almost 17 years after the death, county coroner Isobel O'Dea told the inquest that she was not coroner at the time of Mr Lynch's death and was not aware that an inquest had not taken place. Once informed she took steps to have one.

Before the inquest yesterday, his mother, Nora Lynch said it was "crazy" the inquest was only taking place now.

Explaining why she would not be attending, she said: "After 16½ years, what can we learn? We have had enough upheaval already and if we went along, we would just feel more heartache and upset."