Eric Shorthall jailed for impeding murder prosecution

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

Eric Shorthall was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court on 17 November 2020 to six years and nine months for impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Warren Nolan, with the final nine months suspended for two years. He pleaded guilty to the offence. The proceedings were reported on 17 November 2020.

The offence arose from the shooting of Alan O’Neill in the driveway of his Tallaght home on 27 May 2015. Nolan was convicted in December 2018 of murdering Mr O’Neill and burning out the car used in the shooting; he later lost an appeal against his conviction.

Detective Garda Conor Harrison said Shorthall’s car was the second getaway car, placed with Shorthall as driver to await the two people in the car used in the shooting. The detective said CCTV showed Shorthall’s car in convoy with Nolan’s car before the shooting and the drivers talking to one another. Mr Justice Paul McDermott said Shorthall maintained that he knew only that someone would be harmed, not murdered, but had taken responsibility for the offence.

The judge treated the offence as being at the upper end of seriousness. He reduced a nine-year headline sentence to six years and nine months, taking account of Shorthall’s early plea, youth and some remorse. The suspended portion required regular Probation Service appointments and engagement with substance abuse services, personal counselling and victim-focused work.