Jury discharged due to 'matters beyond my control', judge says

Eoin Reynolds

A judge at the Central Criminal Court has discharged a jury after two weeks of a murder trial, saying she was left with no alternative due to "matters beyond my control".

Ms Justice Karen O'Connor today told the jury of five women and seven men in the trial of Joseph Lawlor that she was "very sorry" the trial could not continue, but it would not be appropriate to go into detail about what had happened.

Mr Lawlor (39) pleaded not guilty to murdering dad-of-three Michael Ryan (51) outside the accused man's home in Hampton Wood Way, St Margaret's Road, Finglas, Dublin 11 on June 20th, 2024. His trial began on June 19th.

The jury had been told to expect the prosecution case to close early last week but issues arose that Ms Justice O'Connor told them needed to be dealt with in their absence.

When the jury returned to court on Monday morning, Ms Justice O'Connor told them she had no alternative but to discharge.

She thanked them for their attentiveness and exempted them from further jury duty for five years.

The trial had heard that Mr Lawlor and Mr Ryan had been drinking together in Mr Lawlor's home. A series of fights between them were captured on CCTV, by neighbours using their telephones and by a Ring doorbell.

The final, fatal encounter occurred shortly after midnight and resulted in Mr Ryan suffering a single stab wound to the neck that severed an artery.

Having discharged the jury, Ms Justice O'Connor put the matter back to July 22nd when a date will be fixed for a second trial.