Darren Murphy fails appeal against Eamon Kelly murder conviction

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Darren Murphy failed at the Court of Appeal in his challenge to his murder conviction, with Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh dismissing the appeal on 19 December 2023. He had been convicted at the Special Criminal Court in November 2021 and sentenced to life imprisonment in January 2022.

Murphy had denied the murder charge. He was found not guilty of possessing a Glock pistol with intent to endanger life, due to insufficient evidence. His lawyers argued that the CCTV identification process was flawed and raised concerns about Garda witness credibility, but the Court of Appeal said the witnesses had made firm and untainted identifications.