Edward Connors jailed for manslaughter in Dublin

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

Edward Connors, 30, was sentenced to seven years in prison for manslaughter by Judge Patrick McCartan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 24 February 2015.

Connors had pleaded not guilty to unlawfully killing Eoghan Dudley. A jury found him guilty after an eight-day manslaughter trial. Mr Dudley, 28, died almost instantly after going under the left rear wheel of a bus on Dawson Street during rush-hour traffic on 6 December 2012.

Connors admitted interacting with Mr Dudley but claimed that what looked like a punch on CCTV footage was him trying to grab Mr Dudley to stop him falling off the path and going under the bus.

Connors also pleaded guilty to two counts of using a syringe to cause injury or threaten to cause injury. These concerned incidents at Balally Shopping Centre, Sandyford, on 17 May 2012 and at Lotts Lane on 18 August 2012. Judge McCartan imposed concurrent two-year sentences on those counts.

The judge had previously ordered a further assessment to establish whether Connors was suitable for a treatment facility in the UK. Oisin Clarke, defending, later told the judge that Connors had been unable to be assessed because of legal issues and that State funding was unavailable for his rehabilitation.