Mark Crawford pleaded not guilty to Limerick pub murder

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

Mark Crawford pleaded not guilty to murdering Patrick O’Connor in the Central Criminal Court, reported on 3 September 2020. The charge concerns an alleged stabbing at Fitzgerald’s Bar on Sexton Street, Limerick, between 7 and 8 July 2018.

During the trial, Crawford’s wife Karen Crawford told the court he arrived with blood on his hands and later asked what he had done to O’Connor, according to her evidence.

The prosecution alleged the stabbing followed a dispute over payment for cocaine. The defence account, as outlined to the jury, was that Crawford admitted stabbing O’Connor but claimed self-defence.