Patrick Quirke sentenced to life for Bobby Ryan murder

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

Patrick Quirke was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Bobby Ryan at the Central Criminal Court on 1 May 2019. He had pleaded not guilty to murder. The jury found him guilty by a majority of 10 to two after a 13-week trial.

Ryan went missing after leaving his girlfriend Mary Lowry’s home on 3 June 2011. His body was found on 30 April 2013 in an underground run-off tank on Lowry’s farm at Fawnagown, Tipperary, which Quirke leased.

The prosecution claimed Quirke murdered Ryan so he could rekindle an affair with Lowry. The defence said the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt and that Quirke should be acquitted.

Before sentencing, Ryan’s daughter Michelle read a victim impact statement in court. Ms Justice Eileen Creedon expressed sympathy to Ryan’s family after sentencing Quirke to life imprisonment, which began on 1 May 2019.