A jury at the Central Criminal Court in Cork has found two men guilty of the manslaughter of another man, three days after Christmas in 2022.
Nineteen-year-old Jordan Deasy, with an address at Ravensdale, Heron's Wood, Carrigaline, Co Cork, and Ricardo Hoey of Ardcarrig in Carrigaline, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Matt O'Neill.
Last Thursday, on the 13th day of the trial, the jury returned a verdict of guilty of manslaughter in the case of Jordan Deasy.
This afternoon, on the 14th day of the trial and after deliberating for almost 19 hours, the jury also found Ricardo Hoey guilty of manslaughter.
Matt O'Neill was 29 and lived with his parents in Carrigaline, Co Cork. An accomplished swimmer when he was young, he later struggled with addiction.
On the evening of 28 December 2022, he was walking home with a bottle of wine when he was involved in an altercation with Ricardo Hoey and Jordan Deasy.
They later told gardaí he stood waving the bottle in front of their car and would not move, as they were driving in the estate near his home.
Ricardo Hoey said he pushed Matt O'Neill once. Jordan Deasy said he hit him. Matt O'Neill fell to the ground. Jordan Deasy said he hit him again. Ricardo Hoey said he kicked Mr O'Neill once while he was on the ground.
Both men left the scene.
Mr O'Neill was critically injured. He was brought to Cork University Hospital, where he died 11 days later without regaining consciousness.
The Central Criminal Court, sitting in Cork, was told Ricardo Hoey went to gardaí within an hour of the incident happening. He was later charged with Mr O'Neill's murder.
Jordan Deasy was arrested at a flat in nearby Crosshaven on New Year's Eve, and he was subsequently charged with Mr O'Neill's murder too.
The State's case was that their actions resulted in Mr O'Neill's death, that there was an intention to cause serious harm and that this was sufficient to ground a murder charge.
The trial was told by Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margot Bolster, that Mr O'Neill's fatal injuries resulted from blunt force trauma to the head sustained in the 28 December incident which, she said, was consistent with a combination of blows and a fall.
However, a pathologist called by the defence, Professor Jack Crane, said Mr O'Neill may have suffered bleeding on the brain or a small subdural haematoma as a result of an assault four days earlier on Christmas Eve.
After considering their verdicts for almost 15 hours, the jury returned to the courtroom on Thursday and told Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford they had found Jordan Deasy guilty of Matt O'Neill's manslaughter.
This afternoon, after deliberating for 18 hours 42 minutes, the jury returned with the same verdict in the case of 21-year old Ricardo Hoey.
Ms Justice Lankford thanked the jury for their service in what she described as a long, difficult and emotional trial.
She excused the six men and six women from jury service for 10 years.
She adjourned sentencing until 16 May, when a victim impact statement will be available on behalf of Matt O'Neill's family.
Ricardo Hoey and Jordan Deasy have been remanded in custody until that date.
