Patrick Ballard pleads guilty to murder in Ennis

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

Patrick Ballard pleaded guilty to murdering Sharon Bennett at the Central Criminal Court on 6 October 2022.

The murder took place in a public toilet in Ennis, where Ballard attacked his former partner on 28 January 2021.

Bennett died in hospital in Limerick on 10 February 2021, two weeks after the attack.

The judge adjourned the case for a victim impact statement, and the mandatory sentence for murder is life imprisonment.