Lee Canavan guilty of murdering David 'Daithí' Douglas

Lee Canavan has been convicted of the murder of David Douglas following a trial at the Special Criminal Court in May 2021. Douglas, aged 55, was shot six times at Shoestown, a shoe shop on Bridgefoot Street in Dublin's Liberties, on 1 July 2016. The three-judge court found Canavan, then aged 31 and from Rathfarnham in Dublin, guilty of participating in a joint enterprise with shared intention to murder Mr Douglas. However, the court was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Canavan himself fired the fatal shots, citing insufficient forensic and identification evidence to reach that finding. The killing was characterised by prosecutors as a meticulously planned execution involving the coordinated use of multiple stolen vehicles. In sentencing, delivered on 3 June 2021, Canavan received a life sentence. He was additionally convicted of criminal damage relating to a vehicle that was deliberately set alight three days after the shooting in an attempt to destroy evidence, receiving a concurrent five-year term for that offence. Canavan had pleaded not guilty to all charges. The defence disputed identification evidence presented by the State, questioning the reliability of eyewitness accounts and emphasising reliance on clothing colour alone. This conviction marked the second murder conviction in the case. Three other men have previously received custodial sentences for their respective roles in the killing. One was identified as the getaway driver who attempted to burn the vehicle used in the murder, whilst others facilitated the crime. A fourth person has since been convicted in connection with the offence and has pursued an appeal, which was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in January 2024.