Eoin Morrissey receives suspended sentences for impeding prosecution

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

Eoin Morrissey received two two-year sentences, each suspended for two years, at the Special Criminal Court on 18 November 2019. He was ordered to enter a €100 bond.

Morrissey had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of impeding the apprehension or prosecution of the killers of Aidan O’Driscoll. The proceedings were reported on 18 November 2019.

O’Driscoll was shot dead on the Old Commons Road in Blackpool, Cork City, on 7 December 2016. Morrissey provided his cousin Daniel Hegarty with a firelighter used to burn a red Opel Astra. He also admitted following Hegarty to Inchamay, Naad, Banteer, to provide him with transport after the car was burned.

Morrissey said he only realised afterwards that the car had been used in the shooting. Ronan Kennedy SC, for the State, previously told the court that the State could not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Morrissey, Hegarty and Colin Casey knew a murder was to be committed.

Mr Justice Hunt, sitting with Judge Gerard Griffin and Judge Ann Ryan, cited Morrissey’s age, positive probation report, progress since 2016 and guilty plea. Morrissey was 17 at the time of the offences. The judge also noted his completion of a restorative justice programme and his willingness to carry out community service, although the court could not order it.