Life sentence for accused after 'cold-blooded' pub murder
A 48-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for the "cold-blooded, assassination-type" murder of a former kickboxing champion that took place last year in front of a crowd of shocked onlookers in his local Dublin pub.
Bernard Dempsey (aged 48) from Golden Lane, Dublin, had denied murdering James Curran (aged 42) in the Green Lizard Pub, Francis St, Dublin, on April 3, 2005.
The jury of 10 men and two women returned a unanimous verdict in the Central Criminal Court today in just over one hour.
Dempsey, who was well-dressed throughout the trial but wore a navy t-shirt today, merely scratched his ear as the verdict was read out, and showed no sign of emotion.
Mr Justice Paul Carney imposed the mandatory life sentence on Dempsey, saying this was the third murder he had seen committed by somebody undisguised in a pub, putting a bullet into someone else's head in front of a reasonable crowd of people.
"These people think they are invincible and that they can commit this kind of act with impunity," he said.
He commended the bravery of witnesses who were willing to give evidence against murderers in two out of the three these trials, without whom, he said, a murder conviction would have been impossible.
The court heard that April 3 was a Sunday night "just like any other" in the Green Lizard.
Mr Dempsey had arrived at the pub with a group of family and friends. At around 10.15pm, Dempsey put down his pint and walked calmly towards the table where James Curran was sitting with a number of other people and proceeded to shoot him three times in the head at point blank range.
He then gestured to the rest of the shocked onlookers before walking calmly out the door.
A number of witnesses were declared hostile throughout the seven-day trial, most of them claiming gardaí had pressurised them into making statements against the accused.
The prosecution’s case rested largely upon the evidence of two witnesses, who were reluctant to give evidence against the accused.
Bernard Kinsella, who was operating a karaoke machine in the pub, was afraid for his life, but identified Dempsey in open court as the murderer. Mary Kennedy - a sister of the accused - also told the court that she saw her brother standing directly behind James Curran with his arms outstretched as the shots were being fired.
Mr Justice Paul Carney said the community is very beholden to Bernard Kinsella in particular for his courage.
