Doneraile murder trial is adjourned until tomorrow as juror tells court he's not available today

The absence of a juror in the Doneraile murder trial meant that it could not proceed today and the jurors who did appear were sent away for the resumption of deliberations with all jurors tomorrow.

For the past week the trial has been going ahead before a jury of eleven as one woman was discharged because she was unable to continue. By agreement of all parties, the trial continued in front of the jury of five men and six women.

Today, one of the eleven failed to appear at the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Cork.

Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford explained to the ten jurors present: “You can see we have a difficulty. We have one of your number who is not here. We are informed by the juror he will be available tomorrow. In the circumstances I propose to adjourn until tomorrow.

“It is unfortunate. I am conscious it is going to cause some of you difficulty.” 

The third person who was put on trial charged with murdering 44-year-old postman Barry Daly in his front garden in Doneraile last October remains before the court this and the jury are trying to decide if he is guilty of manslaughter or murder.

The 17-year-old stood in the Central Criminal Court in Cork on June 3 and was arraigned on the charge of murdering Mr Daly at Rockview Terrace in Doneraile on October 12 2025. 

He replied not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.

The issue the jury has to decide is between murder and manslaughter.

Co-accused, 20-year-old Alex Deady of Glenview, Convent Road, Doneraile, County Cork, also pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter. On Friday, July 3, the jury found him guilty of murder.

The third accused who was put on trial on June 3 initially pleaded not guilty to murder. Following legal discussions in the absence of the jury this 16-year-old was rearraigned on June 24 and he entered a plea of guilty for the first time, in the following terms: “Not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter,” and this plea to manslaughter was acceptable to the DPP in his case.