Three men have been found guilty of the murder of the gunman Tristan Sherry, who was killed after he shot a man at a restaurant in Blanchardstown in Dublin on Christmas Eve 2023.
Jason Hennessy senior later died from gunshot wounds he sustained that night.
Three other men have been convicted of offences relating to the murder of Tristan Sherry involving violent disorder at Browne's Steakhouse on the same night.
All six were remanded in custody for sentencing on 7 April.
Michael Andrecut
Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo said the court was satisfied that Michael Andrecut was guilty of the murder of Tristan Sherry.
He kicked him several times, stabbed him with a butter knife, hit him with a chair and intended to kill or cause him serious harm.
He paused during the violence and walked away a number of times before coming back to kick Tristan Sherry again, take photographs of his body on the ground with his mobile phone and took photographs while kicking him.
The court rejected his defence of provocation and that Andrecut had lost control after the attack on Jason Hennessy, whom he considered a father figure.
The judge said there was evidence of decision making which indicated he did not lose control.
Andrecut took time out between the bouts of violence he inflicted on Tristan Sherry, he had the capacity to restrain from violence and the court was satisfied he had control of his actions.
Andrecut was pushed away from the body of Tristan Sherry by a young woman in the restaurant before he left.
David Amah
David Amah claimed he reacted when he saw his friend Jason Hennessy senior's body being brought out that night.
"I felt he was still a threat to me," he told the gardaí, "my head was fucked, there were kids and women screaming, babies at the table".
However, the court rejected his defence of provocation and convicted Amah of the murder of Tristan Sherry.
The three judges found beyond reasonable doubt that Amah.
"Intentionally, repeatedly kicked, stamped, stabbed and struck" Tristan Sherry "with a chair" and that he intended to kill or cause him serious harm.
He also took photographs and recorded himself and others attacking Tristan Sherry as he lay fatally injured on the ground in the restaurant.
The court said he made a decision to push through a group to get to the victim and that the nature of his actions thereafter did not demonstrate any loss of control.
His general demeanour and body movements did not significantly change during the attack, Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo said, and he continued to make decisions about what to do and where to position himself to attack the victim.
Noah Musueni
Noah Museuni claimed he attacked Tristan Sherry because he was afraid.
"I remember a gun being pointed at me and my first instinct was to run," he told the gardaí.
"I tried to get out the door but the door wouldn’t open. I remember coming out and I saw a body falling down. I wanted to get to safety. I wish that door would open."
Musueni was 17 at the time of the murders and ran to the bathroom when he saw the gunmen come in to the restaurant.
The court found he could not have seen the body falling as he was in bathroom at the time.
The three judges were satisfied that he kicked Tristan Sherry as he lay on the ground, repeatedly stabbed and stamped on his head intending to kill or cause him serious injury, and that he also threw a chair at him.
The court was also satisfied that he did not suffer a "loss of control."
He was seen on CCTV helping to carry the fatally injured Jason Hennessy senior from the scene before stamping down on Tristan Sherry, taking a knife off a table, stabbing him, changing position and stabbing him up to ten times.
Musueni’s defence was that he was "a child in shock", "a 17-year-old schoolboy expecting Christmas dinner" when "people came in armed with firearms."
The three judges accepted that he had been in fear when the gunmen came in and that it was clear Musueni was "terrified when he ran in to bathroom", an "instinct" that was "perfectly understandable."
However, they also found that when he returned to the restaurant his body language had returned closer to state before gunmen arrived and there was nothing to suggest that Tristan Sherry posed a threat to him when he was lying fatally injured on the ground.
Jonas Kabangu
Jonas Kabangu ran in to the kitchen in the restaurant when the shooting started and came back out when Tristan Sherry was lying on the ground. He kicked him twice and claimed he was afraid.
"I was in fear of my life and safety," he told the gardaí.
"I used no unnecessary violence."
The court agreed that he must have been terrified when he ran into the kitchen and shots had been fired in his direction.
The judge said shots were fired in his direction which must have been terrifying.
Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo said there was "no doubt he was at risk of death when gunmen entered and when he ran to back of restaurant."
However, the court found that when he returned he did use violence when Tristan Sherry represented no threat.
It did not believe his account that he acted in self-defence or that he could believe Sherry was a threat to him was he kicked him twice and found his use of violence was unlawful.
Brandon Hennessy
Brandon Hennessy’s father had just been shot and the court accepted that the circumstances did not allow for clear objective thinking.
Shots were still being fired while Sherry was on the ground, there was a danger from the second gunman, there were"screaming children" and "pregnant women" and it was "a horrific scene".
"Of course, it could have been worse, I could have had a gun like him," Brandon Hennessy told the gardaí.
"He came to kill, we were not there to kill, he’s there to kill," he said.
When asked about what he did he replied, "yeah, I was acting in self defence, didn’t use any unnecessary violence"
Brandon Hennessy ran from his seat to toilet when the shooting started but came back and was standing beside the man who picked up the gun after Tristan Sherry was disarmed.
It is the court found "highly unlikely he didn’t see it being picked up".
He was standing beside Tristan Sherry while the gunman was being kicked on the ground, he also appears to kick him twice but that was not clear.
The three judges found his actions were "not consistent with him being in fear".
He walked to the service area, got a brush and dustpan and struck down twice on Tristan Sherry.
The victim’s blood was recovered from it.
"His demeanour and body language is inconsistent with him feeling under threat," the judge said.
"His actions were not defensive. He stood over and walked around him. He didn’t search him. It is difficult to understand how hitting him twice with a brush and dustpan would neutralise any threat. Brandon Hennessy said he believed Tristan Sherry received just retribution for his actions."
The court found that Brandon Hennessy "intentionally used violence against Tristan Sherry" and "was not acting in self-defence" and therefore "the violence was unlawful."
Diarmuid O’Brien
Diarmuid O’Brien ducked down under his table when the gunmen came in the restaurant.
He was, the court found, "very obviously in fear" at that stage but that when he emerged from under the table, Sherry had been disarmed, lying to the side and facing away from him.
His trousers and underpants had been taken down, he was defenceless on the ground and "under the control of others".
Diarmuid O’Brien helped to move Jason Hennessy away over Tristan Sherry and the court found he would not have done that if Sherry "was still armed or thought to represent a threat".
"I want to put on record I found myself in an extraordinary situation," O’Brien told the gardaí.
"I did not use any unnecessary violence or force."
However, the court rejected his claim of self-defence and said his actions were inconsistent with him being in fear.
O’Brien stamped down on Tristan Sherry while supporting himself on two people beside him
The court did not accept that he did not use unnecessary force but found he intentionally used unlawful violence against Tristan Sherry.
