Drama as Glenamaddy man convicted of manslaughter

Date Published: 30-Jul-2009

A MAN was found not guilty yesterday of murder, but guilty of the manslaughter of his young neighbour outside a pub in Glenamaddy last December, following a six-day trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Galway.

The jury of seven men and five women took just over three and a half hours to reach their 10 to 2 majority verdict, finding Patrick Doherty, aged 46, of Clooncon West, Glenamaddy, not guilty of the murder of Frank Fahy (20), of O’Keeffe Park,Glenamaddy, at the Square, Glenamaddy in the early hours of Monday, December 15 last year, but finding him guilty instead of Mr Fahy’s manslaughter.

Doherty, a native of Glasgow, who spent most of his childhood living in Belmullet with his grandmother and uncle and who had been living in Glenamaddy for the last ten years had denied murdering Mr Fahy but had pleaded guilty at the outset of the trial to his manslaughter.

Mr Fahy’s family wept openly in the packed courtroom at Galway courthouse yesterday afternoon when the verdict was read out and theywatched in dignified silence as Doherty was handcuffed and led away by prison officers.

Mr John Hogan, BL defending, asked for sentencing to be adjourned to a later date for the preparation of a probation report on his client. Mr Justice Paul Carney agreed to…