Courts / Dublin / Report

Gunman's weapon jammed as frightened children ran for cover, in Lidl shooting that featured in 'Inside the K' TV show

Summary

Derek Byrne, 40, of Swords, appeared before the Central Criminal Court at the sentence stage for his role in the attempted murder of Noel Boylan. Byrne pleaded guilty to intentionally facilitating a serious offence by a criminal organisation, specifically the attempted murder of Boylan between May 27 and June 1, 2019, with knowledge of the organisation's existence. He also admitted to participating in the activities of a criminal organisation during a pre-trial hearing. Prosecution counsel Sean Gillane SC noted that Byrne's guilty plea acknowledged his previous false statements to gardai regarding the purchase of a Toyota Avensis used by the gunman. The court heard that the shooter's weapon jammed while pursuing Boylan into a Lidl supermarket, where CCTV captured frightened shoppers, including children, running for cover. Boylan made a full recovery. Byrne, who has 78 previous convictions, is currently serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for unlawful possession of a semi-automatic pistol. His defence counsel, Giollaiosa O'Lideadha SC, highlighted Byrne's severe cocaine addiction and requested the court consider backdating the new sentence to his initial custody date. Mr Justice Paul McDermott remanded Byrne in custody until next Monday, when he will be formally sentenced. Separately, Alan Graham, 51, was previously jailed for 10 years in 2021 after pleading guilty to facilitating the attempted murder of Lee Boylan, Noel's son, in a related incident on the same road in March 2019.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Gunman's weapon jammed as frightened children ran for cover, in Lidl shooting that featured in 'Inside the K' TV show. Charges or matters: having knowledge of the existence of a criminal organisation and participating in activities with the intention of facilitating the commission by the criminal organisation of the offence of attempted murder of Lee Boylan or being reckless as to same at Blakestown Road, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15 on March 6, 2019; intentionally facilitating the commission of a serious offence by a criminal organisation, namely the attempted murder of Noel Boylan, between May 27 and June 1 2019, both dates inclusive, with knowledge of the existence of the said criminal organisation; participating in the activities of a criminal organisation during the pre-trial hearing. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Convicted

When:

• June 1, 2019 Other
• March 6, 2019 Incident
• October 23 Incident
• May 27 Incident
• June 1 2019 Incident
• October 2 Hearing Or Sentence
• May 24 Incident
• December 3, 2019 Incident
• November 2021 Incident
• 2023-12-11 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Drugs Stage Sentence Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report