Stephen Penrose sentenced to life for Philip Finnegan’s murder

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

Stephen Penrose was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment for the murder of Philip Finnegan. The sentencing was reported on 13 December 2021.

A jury found Penrose guilty of murdering 24-year-old Mr Finnegan at Rahin Woods, Co Kildare, on 10 August 2016. Penrose had denied the charge. The verdict was reported on 15 November 2021.

The prosecution relied on CCTV footage of the men’s movements and DNA from Penrose retrieved from a bloodstained glove found near the burial site. Penrose gave differing accounts to gardaí while maintaining that he and Mr Finnegan had been attacked by others.

Penrose represented himself during the trial and cross-examined Mr Finnegan’s mother, Angela. In a victim impact statement, she said no mother should have to be cross-examined by the man who killed her son, and that it caused her family further misery, heartache and torture.

Mr Justice Alex Owens refused Penrose’s request to address the court before sentencing him. Penrose had previously been convicted of the manslaughter of David Sharkey and was sentenced in 2010 to nine years in prison.