Ronan Byrne acquitted of manslaughter and assault charges

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

Ronan Byrne was acquitted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of the manslaughter of his mother’s partner, James Marren. The jury also found him not guilty of assault causing harm and production of an article. The proceedings were reported on 6 October 2021.

Byrne had pleaded not guilty to unlawfully killing Marren at Lohunda Downs, Clonsilla, Blanchardstown, on 31 October 2013. He also denied assaulting Marren and producing a baseball bat during a dispute at the address on 26 October 2013.

The jury heard that Byrne allegedly fractured Marren’s leg during the dispute. Days after the leg was put in a cast, a blood clot developed and travelled to his heart, proving fatal.

Byrne’s brother Cillian told the court that Marren had frequently verbally abused Byrne and often struck or choked him. He said that on the night in question the two men had a scuffle, and he tried to separate them. After Marren ended up on the ground, Cillian said he held him down because he did not want him to get up and attack Byrne again. He said Byrne returned with a wooden bat and struck Marren two or three times.

In a garda interview, Byrne said he had hit Marren on the head and legs. He denied lashing out in anger, saying he wanted to defuse the situation and get his child out of the house.

On the ninth day of the trial, the jury returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on all three charges after deliberating for more than three and a half hours.