Man convicted of Limerick murder given life sentence

A LIMERICK man was jailed for life at the Central Criminal Court yesterday after he was convicted of the murder of a father of…

A LIMERICK man was jailed for life at the Central Criminal Court yesterday after he was convicted of the murder of a father of three in the city last year.

Mr Joseph Kiely (29), died after he was shot by Richard Bermingham five times at his home at O'Malley Park in the city. He was shot once in the head, three times in the front of the body and then turned over and shot in the back in what the prosecution described as "a cold blooded murder".

The jury of eight men and four women took just over two hours to reach its verdict yesterday afternoon.

They found Bermingham (23) of O'Malley Park, Limerick guilty of the murder of Mr Kiely at his home at O'Malley Park on August 20th, 1995. Bermingham had denied the charge.

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Mr Justice Flood told Bermingham the statutory sentence for a verdict of murder was life imprisonment. "I accordingly pass that sentence on you," he said. "I have no option and no discretion." The judge refused leave to appeal.

Relatives of the dead man and of the defendant wept as the verdict was passed.

The four day trial heard that Mr Kiely was asleep in his bedroom with his wife Teresa and baby daughter Amanda early on August 20th, 1995, when the front door was smashed in.

Mrs Kiely said two men ran up the stairs. She said her husband had gone out to the top of the stairs when she woke him after hearing the glass breaking and she followed him.

She said she recognised a mane at the top of the stairs as Bermingham who, she said, pushed her husband back into the bedroom. Mrs Kiely said her husband said to Bermingham: "Richie, please, not here.

She said a shot was fired and she was covered with blood. She said her husband had his hand around her waist in the bedroom and was "begging me to stop Richie shooting him".

Mrs Kiely said: "I said `F... off and leave him alone'." She said she had no doubt she was saying this to Bermingham. She said Bermingham "gave me a slap" with the gun and pushed her out of the way.

She picked up their baby from her cot and there were another two or three shots. She did not see if the shots hit her husband.

She said she saw Bermingham turn her husband over "and give him one in the back". She said the second man was standing in the door of the bedroom and had a gun in his hand. She did not see that man discharge a firearm.

The two men then fled the room and raced down the stairs, Mrs Kiely said.

Del Sgt John O'Reilly told the court the investigation into the killing of Mr Kiely was continuing and that certain forensic evidence had come to light regarding the matter.