Hunger striking prisoner John Dundon has gone on trial at the Special Criminal Court for the murder of rugby player Shane Geoghegan.
The 31-year-old of Hyde Road, Limerick has been found medically fit to stand trial after reportedly fainting in a holding cell at lunchtime yesterday. He is accused of ordering a killing that led to 28-year-old Geoghegan being shot in a case of mistaken identity.
The Garryowen captain was gunned down near his home in the Clonmore Estate in Limerick in the early hours of November 9th 2008.
The prosecution claims the intended target was John McNamara who lived four doors down from Mr Geoghegan. John Dundon denies murder.
Prosecution Counsel, Tom O’Connell, SC, says the state’s case is based on the evidence of 3 witnesses. The first is April Collins, a former partner of John Dundon’s brother Gerard Dundon.
Opening the case, Mr. O’Connell said her evidence will be that she was present on the Friday night before the murder when John Dundon ordered the killing of John McNamara.
He said she will testify that she was also present when John Dundon met the gunman at around 7am on the Sunday morning after the shooting, at a put car park in the outskirts of Limerick. She will say that John Dundon became angry when he made a phone call in which he discovered John McNamara was not dead.
The court has heard her sister Lisa Collins and her sister’s partner are the other main prosecution witnesses. Lisa Collins is expected to say John Dundon put pressure on the couple to steal a car and that she felt sick when she realised it was used in Shane Geoghegan’s murder.
The prosecution says she will also claim that John Dundon called to her house at around 3am on the night of the murder and laughed and said ‘John Mac is dead'.
Evidence will begin next week in the trial which has been adjourned to allow John Dundon’s new defence lawyers time to familiarise themselves with the case.
The team led by Brendan Nix, SC, were hired for the job yesterday after Mr. Dundon fired his old lawyers.
Mr. Nix has promised the non-jury court there will be 'no messing around' and that he will not be party to ‘any obfuscating, any circus’.
