A man on trial for murder allegedly named the two gunmen he drove to and from the shooting of Limerick man, Eddie Ryan senior, a Central Criminal Court jury has heard.
In a late sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, Mr Paul Coffey named Kieran Keane as one of two gunmen who shot Eddie Ryan in a Limerick pub in November 2000, according to replies he allegedly gave to gardaí during interrogation in Mayorstone Garda station almost a month after the killing.
Mr Coffey denies a murder charge, and Mr Michael Maloney, for the defence, told the jury that his client denies he named the two gunmen to gardaí.
Mr Maloney said that Paul Coffey will say he never named Kieran Keane or the other alleged gunman, and that in a series of interviews over three days, he never mentioned any names to the gardaí. But the defence admit he did describe driving two men to the Moose Bar, without naming them.
The prosecution alleges that Mr Coffey drove the getaway car, a stolen vehicle, and that he later carried out the instructions of Kieran Keane to "get rid of it". The car was later found burned out. It alleges that Paul Coffey was "an accessory" to the murder and as guilty as the men who fired the fatal shots that killed Mr Ryan.
Det Garda James B Hanley (now retired) read a statement Mr Coffey allegedly made to gardaí on the third day of his detention admitting that he drove the gunmen to the murder scene and that he dropped them off in a housing estate afterwards. In the statement, Mr Coffey said he did not know what was happening until he saw Kieran Keane and another named gunman pulling down woollen caps over their faces as balaclavas just before they entered the Moose Bar and fired shots from inside the doorway.
Det Garda Hanley told Mr Shane Murphy SC, prosecuting, that in interviews with himself and Det Sgt Jerry Healy (now deceased), Paul Coffey first said he had nothing to do with the shooting. He said he only "vaguely" knew about "the hassle" between the Keanes and the Ryans.
In a later interview, he allegedly said of Mr Ryan senior: "He's like what the General was in Dublin. If whoever shot Eddie is found, he will get the same." Paul Coffey (26), whose last address was at Craeval Park, Moyross, Limerick, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Edward ('Eddie') Ryan (41) of Hogan Avenue, Kileely, Limerick, at Cathedral Place in Limerick city on November 12th, 2000.
In the statement, he allegedly said that he was driving around with his girlfriend and one of their children at around 9.30 p.m. on the night of the shooting, when one of the gunmen beckoned to him and said: "Come here. I want you to drive a car for me."
Mr Coffey allegedly told gardaí he dropped off his girlfriend and child and went to a house, where 10 named men were gathered. Kieran Keane allegedly then took him down to Keane's coal yard, where another named man was standing at a large dark car.Kieran Keane and the other named man jumped into the car and told Coffey to drive to the Moose Bar.
When they got there, Keane got out of the car and made a phone call on his mobile, Mr Coffey allegedly said. He then heard Keane say, "F*** it, [a named man] isn't there".
Keane got back into the car and told Coffey to drive over in front of the pub. As he was doing that, the two men put on woollen caps and pulled them down as balaclavas.
Kieran Keane then said, "If [another named man] is there, he's going to get it too."
The two men jumped out of the car and started shooting into the pub, his statement continued.
"I could see they were firing into the pub and pointing downwards", he said. "I knew they were firing at someone down low or on the ground." Coffey's statement said he got a fright from the shooting and the car cut out. He started it up again, and the two gunmen jumped back in. Kieran Keane was saying, "Drive, drive".
Earlier, Det Garda Gerard Hogan denied in evidence a defence claim that he offered a deal to Coffey if he turned State witness, under which, Coffey, his partner and their children would be placed in the Witness Protection Progamme and brought to the USA.
The trial continues today.