ALL three victims died of swelling, contusion or laceration of the brain due to a single gunshot wound, the acting deputy State Pathologist, Dr Margot Bolster said in court yesterday.
Dr Bolster said she had gone to the Cregg Wood area at 3.20 p.m. on May 8th, 1994. She noted the body of an adult woman. Beside the woman's body was the body of a child. Both had decomposed to some degree, Dr Bolster said. There was greenish discolouring of the skin and the bodies were flaccid.
She estimated death had occurred at least one week prior to when she carried out her postmortems on the evening of May 8th. It could have occurred even two to three weeks previously.
Dr Bolster said she carried out a post mortem on the body of Imelda Riney on May 8th, 1994, at Ennis General Hospital. She noted several bruises on the legs. There was a gunshot wound through the orbit of the left eye and the bone at the front of the skull was shattered. She removed a large portion of flattened bullet from the back of the head.
The cause of Imelda Riney's death was swelling, contusion, bruising and laceration or tearing of the brain due to a gunshot wound to the head, Dr Bolster concluded. Death would have been "very rapid" and perhaps instant.
Dr Bolster said she carried out a post mortem on the body of Liam Riney on the same date.
The body was totally flaccid, post mortem lividity was present and there were signs of decomposition. There was bleeding from the ear lobes and bruising around both eyes.
She noted a round entry wound on the left side of the child's head, above the hairline. It was surrounded by a collar of soot and bruising. There were fractures at the base of the skull and the track of the wound extended through the brain downwards. The main piece of bullet was lodged at the base of the skull. There was extensive tearing of nerve fibres in the brain.
The cause of the child's death was swelling and contusion of the brain due to a gunshot wound to the head.
Dr Bolster said she carried out a post mortem on the body of Father Joe Walsh on August 8th, 1994. There were signs of decomposition on the body. She believed Father Walsh had been, dead at least three days.
She noted a laceration on the left side of his face with bruising. There was bleeding from the left ear, mouth and nose.
There was a gunshot entry wound on the left side of the head with an area of bruising.
She said the cause of death was swelling, contusion and laceration of the brain with haemorrhaging due to a gunshot wound to the head.
There was evidence of early decomposition which, when taking into account the environment in which the body was lying, suggested death occurred several days prior to the finding of the body.