The only motive for the murder of a 62-year-old man who was shot dead outside his home in Dublin three days before Christmas in 2016 was that he was associated in the media with another person, the Special Criminal Court has heard.
Noel Kirwan, who was shot dead as part of the ongoing Hutch-Kinahan feud, was photographed beside Gerard Hutch, the man known as ‘The Monk’ but a detective testified today Mr Kirwan had "absolutely no involvement in criminality."
In a victim impact statement, his daughter Donna said the only thing he was guilty of was showing his respect at the funeral of a childhood friend.
27- year-old Jason Keating, of Lower Main Street in Rush, has admitted helping a criminal gang carry out the murder of Mr Kirwan.
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He will be sentenced next month.
Mr Kirwan was shot dead in his car outside his home in Ronanstown in Dublin three days before Christmas in 2016.
He was photographed at the funeral of Eddie Hutch, a childhood friend, beside Gerard Hutch.
Detective Inspector Mark O’Neill told the Special Criminal Court today that this association in the media was the only motive the gardaí could ascertain for his murder.
Jason Keating was charged with the murder but that charge was dropped after he admitted participating in the activities of a criminal organisation - helping that gang to murder Mr Kirwan.
The court heard that a tracker device had been fitted to the undercarriage Mr Kirwan’s car, and Keating was involved in transferring it to a new car he bought two days before his murder.
The court also heard that on the day of the murder, Keating was in the getaway car, in contact with the person monitoring the tracker’s movements on a laptop, and that he conveyed those details to the person believed to have shot Mr Kirwan dead.
He was also connected to the crime through CCTV footage and the purchase of a SIM card for the "burner" phone.
In her victim impact statement, Ms Kirwan described how her father worked all his life and unlike many of those who grew up with in Dublin’s north inner city, did not get involved in drugs.
She said the murder has destroyed the family as they struggle to think of his last moments.
"The only thing he was guilty of", she said, "was showing his respect at the funeral of a childhood friend.
"The people who do this should remember that it’s those who are left behind that suffer."
