Noel Long found guilty of Nora Sheehan’s murder

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

Noel Long was found guilty of murdering Nora Sheehan by a unanimous jury verdict on 4 August 2023. Mr Justice Paul McDermott imposed a mandatory life sentence, backdated by four weeks.

Long had pleaded not guilty to murdering 54-year-old Sheehan between 6 and 12 June 1981 at an unknown place within the State. The proceedings were reported on 4 August 2023.

Forestry workers found Sheehan’s body at The Viewing Point, Shippool Woods, Cork, six days after she went missing. The jury reached its verdict after five hours and 32 minutes of deliberation.

Long’s defence had argued that the State had not proved the intent required for murder and that the most the jury could consider was manslaughter. Defence counsel Michael Delaney said former State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy’s evidence that the cause of death was unascertained was important to that question.