A gunman has been found guilty of the murder of a man in Ballyfermot four-and-a-half years ago.
Cailean Crawford had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Thomas McCarthy on 27 July 2020 at Croftwood Park, Ballyfermot, Dublin, but was convicted this afternoon.
The 55-year-old was "executed" on his doorstep.
The father and grandfather lived in the UK with his wife and children, but had returned to Ireland to visit relatives.
He was shot seven times at the front door of his mother's home and died at the scene.
The gunman fled along with the other gang members and two cars and a van were subsequently found burned out.
Today, a jury found Crawford, a man heavily involved in organised crime, was that gunman and was guilty of the murder of Mr McCarthy
The 28-year-old took the stand during the trial and tried to claim he was only a drug dealer who had loaned his van to a man "with bones sticking out of his face" that day but was now being blamed - a claim rejected in a unanimous verdict.
Crawford's fellow gang member Charles McClean has already been convicted for his role in the murder and is serving eight-and-a-half years for facilitating an organised crime group.
Crawford and McClean were also involved in the attempted murder of gang member Wayne Whelan, who was shot and seriously injured in September 2019.
Whelan survived that attack, but was shot dead two months later.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt referred in court today to Crawford’s involvement in the previous gun attack and called him "a cold blooded dangerous individual".
He remanded him in custody for sentencing in two weeks time, but the 28 year old convicted killer now faces the mandatory term of life in prison.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
After the verdict was delivered, Crawford shouted: "F**k you and your fair trial" and stormed out of the dock.
Thomas McCarthy's partner, Nia O’Reilly, wept and shouted: "You murdering rat. Weasel. Pig," at Crawford as he left the court.
She subsequently apologised to the court for the outburst.
Justice Hunt told the jury they should have "no regrets" and "no remorse" about the verdict they had reached when they look back at the case.
Crawford, he said, was "not an unlucky man whose only crime was to lend a phone and a van to another man. He’s not a victim of circumstance. He is, in fact, a very dangerous individual".
He also told the jury that as a result of their verdict, "the good people of Ballyfermot", whom they had heard Crawford "slur" in the witness box, will be able to "live free of him for some time".
He said what was needed to perpetrate a crime like this one was "someone cold-blooded", someone who is "a shell of a human being" and who "doesn’t have any emotions".
"The amount of people who would be prepared to do something like this are in short supply," said the judge.
