A 20-year-old Limerick man has been jailed for life for the murder of Daniel Fitzgerald in 2009.
Kenneth Collopy of Kilonan, Ballysimon, had denied the murder of the 25-year-old who was shot in the head and leg as he left his uncle's home in Ballysimon on 8 December 2009.
The jury returned a unanimous verdict after two hours and twenty minutes of deliberation.
The trial heard Mr Fitzgerald had been mistakenly shot by Kenneth Collopy who fired at a number of caravans in what he perceived as revenge for an arson attack on his mother's van.
The victim was described as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The defence said Collopy had not intended to kill anyone; he was just a hot-headed teenager acting recklessly.
In a victim impact statement, the victim’s father, Noel Fitzgerald, told how his son was killed for something he was oblivious to. He said the shooting was justified as revenge for damage to clothing in a van and asked had life become that cheap.
Some members of the jury wept as he told how his son never smoked or took drugs and rarely drank. He had a love of music and all things Irish.
He played the accordion and bodhrán and was waiting to have his own uilleann pipes made. Mr Fitzgerald said his son was loyal and thoughtful.
On the night he was killed, Daniel Fitzgerald was on his way home to feed the family pets, his father said.
Noel Fitzgerald said he still kept his son's number in his mobile phone and often scrolled down to it, tempted to ring it but knowing there was not point.
‘We miss him dearly,’ he said.
Mr Fitzgerald said the most important person in the case - his son - was silent but he would not be silenced today. His son was never involved in any crime or feuds.
Outside court, he said sitting through the two-week trial and seeing the gun used to murder his son was ‘harrowing’.
He said his son had grown up in England away from any criminal lifestyle and had never been involved in crime or feuding or any sort. He said he lived for music and festivals and off-road four-wheel driving.
Kenneth Collopy showed no emotion as he was sentenced to life in prison. He then winked at his family who shouted from the back of the court that they loved him.
