Noel Long jailed for Nora Sheehan murder

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

Noel Long was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Nora Sheehan at the Central Criminal Court on 4 August 2023.

Long had pleaded not guilty to murdering Sheehan, whose body was found at Shippool Woods in Cork six days after she went missing in June 1981. The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict after five hours and 32 minutes of deliberation.

The life sentence was mandatory. The jury rejected the defence case that the evidence did not prove the intent required for murder, and that manslaughter was the most it could consider.