Two sentenced for Co. Kildare manslaughter

Two men have been sentenced for their role in a fatal shooting in County Kildare in April 2013. At the Central Criminal Court, Quentin Monaghan and James Seery, both aged 21, received custodial sentences after pleading guilty to manslaughter during trial proceedings. Monaghan, from Stradbally, County Laois, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, with two years suspended. He also received a concurrent four-year term for firearms offences. In determining the sentence, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan took into account Monaghan's guilty plea, cooperation with gardaí, and expressions of remorse. However, the court acknowledged the reckless nature of his involvement in the incident. Seery, from Athy, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, with three years suspended, and a concurrent three-year sentence relating to firearms matters. The judge considered Seery's youth at the time, his clean criminal record, his guilty plea, and cooperation with gardaí. Psychiatric evidence was also considered, which suggested reduced culpability compared to that of his co-accused. The victim, Jamie Lindsay, aged 20, was shot at close range with a sawn-off shotgun at Coney Green, Athy on 6 April 2013. The court heard that the shooting occurred against a background of mutual threats. A third man, Darren Wynne, was convicted of murder in the same matter and received a mandatory life sentence. Wynne had pleaded not guilty and maintained the shooting was accidental, though a jury rejected his defence following nearly five hours of deliberation. Both Monaghan and Seery were also convicted of possessing a sawn-off shotgun in suspicious circumstances. The sentences reflect the varying degrees of culpability and cooperation demonstrated by each defendant throughout the proceedings.