Silver will serve a minimum sentence of 40 years

Detective Colm Horkan was shot dead with his own gun while to tried to arrest Stephen Silver in Castlerea, County Roscommon in June 2020.

Members of Mr Horkan’s family said they were ‘relieved’ after the Central Criminal Court found a man guilty of his murder.

After two trials at the Central Criminal Court, a jury has found Stephen Silver, who shot Garda Colm Horkan 11 times with his own gun, guilty of capital murder

Mr Silver (46), of Aughavard, Foxford, Co Mayo, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Gda Horkan knowing or being reckless as to whether he was a member of An Garda Siochana acting in accordance with his duty at Castlerea, Co Roscommon on June 17th, 2020.

In his closing address to the jury on Friday, defence counsel Dominic McGinn SC said the shooting of Garda Horkan was “not a rational act” and there was no rational basis or motivation for what happened.

Mr Silver has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Gda Horkan knowing or being reckless as to whether he was a member of An Garda Siochana acting in accordance with his duty at Castlerea, Co Roscommon on June 17th, 2020.

“One can’t be confident of what he says,” Professor Harry Kennedy told the jury in the trial of Stephen Silver.

A consultant psychiatrist said the accused appeared to show 'poor social judgement' and engaged in 'self dramatising behaviour'

Marian Bruen told the murder trial jury that she “knew immediately” Mr Silver wasn’t himself during a phone call on June 16th, 2020 and said there were numerous “red flags” during the call

Psychiatrist tells court that accused didn’t appreciate “gravity of his circumstances”

Dr Wright, interim clinical director at the Central Mental Hospital, gave evidence to defence counsel Dominic McGinn SC about interviews she conducted with Mr Silver in the months after the shooting.

Giving evidence to defence counsel Dominic McGinn SC today on Tuesday, Dr Brenda Wright, interim clinical director at the Central Mental Hospital, confirmed that during one hospital admission in 2003, Mr Silver was diagnosed as being “manic with psychotic symptoms”.

Dr Wright, interim clinical director at the Central Mental Hospital, gave evidence today on Monday to defence counsel Dominic McGinn SC that she interviewed Mr Silver three times between August and September 2020.  

Mr Silver agreed with Mr Delaney that his hostility to gardaí was getting worse as the interviews went on and that by the final interview he was “extremely hostile to gardaí”.

The jury in the trial of Mr Silver (46), of Aughavard, Foxford, Co Mayo, also heard that Mr Silver struck Gda Horkan with the butt of the gun after the first shots were fired, saying he believed the garda was “a heavy down from Dublin” who was trying to kill him.

Mr Silver has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Garda Horkan knowing or being reckless whether he was a member of An Garda Siochana.

Mr Silver is on trial for the murder of Gda Horkan at Castlerea, Co Roscommon on June 17th, 2020

Footage from three interviews conducted with Mr Silver on June 19th, 2020 was viewed by the trial jury on Monday

In garda interviews which took place the day after the fatal shooting, Mr Silver said: “I was set up. Why would you want to shoot me? Why would you want to shoot a man going to f**king Apache Pizza.”

Stephen Silver has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Garda Colm Horkan in June 2020

Stephen Silver (46) has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Garda Colm Horkan in June 2020

A witness told the court she was at home on the night when she heard gunshots outside and a loud argument involving more than one voice

Dr Greg Kelly agreed with Mr Silver's defence lawyers that psychiatric services were restricted because of Covid and that one of the most important aspects of psychiatric care is having face to face care.

The jury in the trial of Stephen Silver, heard on Thursday that the accused spat in a garda’s face, attempted to grab another garda by the throat, and urinated on the floor of his cell after he was arrested.

Garda Colm Horkan was shot 11 times with his own gun in Castlerea, Co Roscommon in June 2020

The jury in the trial of Stephen Silver (46), of Aughavard, Foxford, Co Mayo, also heard on Thursday that the accused went to the garda station earlier in the day, where he delivered an “angry rant” about the supposed abuse of his friend during a garda raid

Opening Mr Silver's trial, prosecution counsel James Dwyer SC said the accused man then mentioned Black Lives Matter

Stephen Silver (46) was on trial accused of the murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan in June 2020

The jury, who have now begun their third day of deliberations, were informed by Mr Justice Paul McDermott that they no longer have to return a unanimous verdict in the trial of Stephen Silver (46), Aughavard, Foxford, Co Mayo, charged with the murder of Det Gda Horkan at Castlerea, Co. Roscommon on June 17th, 2020

Mr Justice Paul McDermott told the seven men and five women that they are not bound by the expert evidence and they are entitled to prefer one psychiatrist's evidence over another

It would be 'unsafe' to convict Stephen Silver of the murder of Garda Colm Horkan, a barrister has told the Central Criminal Court

Stephen Silver, who denies murdering Detective Garda Colm Horkan, was not psychotic and was not suffering from delusions at the time of the shooting, a psychiatrist has told the trial jury

Marian Bruen told defence counsel Roisin Lacey SC that she was with her brother at his first admission in 1997 and has seen his condition deteriorate at different times since then.

Stephen Silver (46) has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan

Dr Brenda Wright diagnosed Stephen Silver with bipolar affective disorder and said that his mental capacity was diminished by his illness

Stephen Silver did not seem to grasp the gravity of the situation he found himself in after he shot and killed Garda Colm Horkan, the psychiatrist said

Dr Brenda Wright told Stephen Silver's trial that he had been admitted to psychiatric units 17 times, dating back to 1997, prior to the shooting in 2019

Stephen Silver was giving evidence at his own trial, where he has said he was suffering from a mental disorder and was having "confused thoughts" on the day of the shooting

Stephen Silver has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Garda Colm Horkan in June 2020

Stephen Silver told his trial that he is diagnosed with two mental disorders, had stopped taking his medication and was living in a shed with no running water in the weeks before the shooting

Garda Colm Horkan, who was shot dead two years ago, helped to have the man accused of his murder admitted to a psychiatric unit in 2003, the Central Criminal Court has heard

A psychiatrist who assessed garda murder accused Stephen Silver hours after the shooting of Detective Garda Colm Horkan found “no evidence of acute mental illness”, the Central Criminal Court has heard

The accused told detectives that he acted in self-defence after being attacked by a man he did not know

Dr Greg Kelly, GP, described Stephen Silver as restless, agitated and speaking so quickly he was "passing himself out".

A key witness in the Detective Garda Colm Horkan murder trial has told the Central Criminal Court that he wanted to keep the accused man "away from the guards" on the night of the shooting

An eyewitness has told the Detective Garda Colm Horkan murder trial that he heard the “shooter” say: “If I didn't kill him, he would have killed me.”

Stg Michael O'Hara said defendant Stephen Silver told him: “I didn’t know what he was going to do to me so I just grabbed the gun from him and I shot him.”

Stephen Silver, who denies murdering Det Gda Colm Horkan, had a “smirk on his face” as he told a garda trying to resuscitate the detective that he was “doing it wrong” and that he was killing him, a witness has told the Central Criminal Court.

Garda Helen Gillen said she and her colleague Gda Aidan Fallon were driving along the junction between Main St and Patrick St in Castlerea when they saw two men grappling at the side of the road and then heard what they believed to be gunshots.