A Belfast man today became the first person to be convicted by a Dublin court for a murder carried out in Northern Ireland.
Gerard Mackin (26) was jailed for life by the Special Criminal Court after he was found guilty of the murder of Belfast taxi driver Eddie Burns in the city last year.
Mackin, a native of the Whiterock area of west Belfast, with an address at Raheen Close, Tallaght, Dublin, was found guilty of the murder of Edward Burns (36) a father of five from Prospect Park, Belfast, at Bog Meadow, Falls Road, Belfast on March 12th, 2007.
He was also convicted of the attempted murder of Damien O' Neill (25), the possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and causing serious harm to Mr O'Neill on the same date.
Mr Justice Paul Butler, presiding, sentenced Mackin to the mandatory life sentence for the murder of Mr Burns and adjourned sentence on the remaining offences until next week.
Mackin opted for trial in the Republic under the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act of 1976 which allows suspects to be tried in the Republic for alleged offences in Britain or Northern Ireland.
During the ten day trial, the three judge non-jury court heard evidence over two days at Belfast Crown Court from a number of witnesses who were reluctant to travel to Dublin, including the main prosecution witness Mr O'Neill, who was himself shot twice during the incident but survived. It was the first time the judges of the Special Criminal Court sat in Belfast to hear evidence.