A man has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty at the Central Criminal Court of the murder of Limerick bouncer Brian Fitzgerald. Two other men have been acquitted by the jury.
Gary Campion: found guilty of murder
Gary Campion (24) of Pineview gardens, Moyross, Limerick, was found guilty of murdering Mr Fitzgerald (34) in the early hours of November 29th, 2002, at Brookhaven Walk, Mill Road, Corbally, Limerick, after just over five hours of deliberations by the jury.
Campion drove the motorcycle that was used to get away from the scene of the murder.
The jury found Anthony Kelly (50), with an address at Kilrush, not guilty of murder by a unanimous verdict.
It also found Desmond Dundon (23) from Ballinacurra Weston, Co Limerick, not guilty.
Mr Fitzgerald, who was head of security at Doc's Nightclub in Limerick city, was killed as he returned home from work. He was shot in the head and chest by chief prosecution witness James Martin Cahill, who is serving a life sentence for the murder.
Cahill said during his evidence that he had been hired by a man, referred to as Mr A for legal reasons, to shoot someone who had "made a statement against him." Campion was to drive the getaway bike. Cahill had claimed that Mr Kelly had provided the gun and Desmond and John Dundon had identified the victim.
Earlier in the trial, John Dundon (27) from Ballinacurra Weston in Limerick was acquitted of murder when Mr Justice Charleton ruled there was no case against him.
Mr Justice Charleton refused Campion leave to appeal. He also set a date for Mr Kelly to apply for his legal costs.
In a statement delivered outside the court by his solicitor, Eugene O'Kelly, Mr Kelly said he was grateful to the jury for upholding his innocence.
However, he expressed his resentment for the past year's incarceration "on the word of a self professed perjuring, perverted killer."
He added: "It is quite extraordinary that this man's freedom has been denied to him for the past year on the rantings and the ravings of a demented psychopath."