Man feels 'profound sense of betrayal' over murder conspirator being his daughter's ex-boyfriend

Eoin Reynolds

The innocent victim of a murder conspiracy has spoken of his "profound sense of betrayal" at learning that the driver of the getaway car used in the attack was his daughter's ex-boyfriend, whom the family treated as one of their own.

Thomas McDonnell also told the Central Criminal Court on Friday of the moment he expected to "get one in the head" as he lay on the ground pretending to be dead, only for the gunman to fumble with his weapon, which appeared to have jammed.

Thomas McDonnell was twice shot by a masked gunman from the passenger seat of a Citroen Berlingo van at the victim's car repair garage in Tallaght.

The garda investigation revealed that the gunman was Jason Dunne (35) of Cedarbrook Place, Ballyfermot while the driver of the van was Craig Hayes (27) of Cushlawn Park, Tallaght.

In a victim impact statement read out at Hayes's sentencing hearing on Friday, McDonnell said: "Craig is well known to me. He was in a relationship with my daughter for a number of years. We treated him like one of our own and we never had a wrong word. It is very upsetting that he did this to me."

The court also heard that Dunne, who is on bail, told McDonnell: "There you are, whack in the back," as the victim and his daughter were walking to court on Friday.

Det Inspector Anthony Collins overheard the remark and told the court he took it to be meant as a threat to McDonnell.

The court was to hear evidence in relation to Dunne and Hayes's involvement in the murder conspiracy, but Dunne's solicitor did not appear due to an ongoing dispute regarding payment under the legal aid scheme.

Judge Paul McDermott heard evidence relating to Hayes' involvement but adjourned the hearing in relation to Dunne until July 31st.

He also said he would not take any action regarding the comment made to McDonnell because Dunne has no legal representation.

Hayes and Dunne previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder McDonnell between November 28th and December 3rd, 2021.

They had been charged with attempted murder but those charges are not being pursued. The maximum sentence for the conspiracy charge is ten years' imprisonment.

At Friday's hearing, Det Gda Conor Harrisson told Gerardine Small SC, prosecuting, that on December 3rd, 2021 at about 12.10pm, a black Citroen Berlingo van entered the driveway of Cookstown Cottages in Tallaght.

It drove to a site housing the victim's motor repair garage and CCTV footage showed the person in the front passenger seat, later identified as Dunne, firing two shots through the van's open window.

Dunne then got out of the van and ran into the yard where McDonnell was now lying on the ground.

In his statement to gardaí, McDonnell said he had been dismantling the brakes of an Audi A3 when he felt an "unmerciful pain" in his right elbow.

He then saw the black van with the two occupants wearing balaclavas and the one in the passenger seat pointing a gun at him. He hid behind the Audi's wheel and heard a bang followed by something ricocheting behind him.

He said he dropped to the floor to pretend he was dead as the gunman got out of the van and walked to within about five feet of where he lay.

He said he believed he was going to "get one in the head" but the gunman "fumbled with the gun", which appeared to have jammed, before running back to the van.

McDonnell dragged himself to his office where he rang emergency services and then his daughter. He was finding it hard to breathe by the time Det Gda Harrisson arrived and began tending to his wounds.

Det Gda Harrisson said the victim told him that he had been shot because a family member owed €100,000 to some unknown person.

The gun, which was retrieved from the burnt-out Berlingo van, was a machine pistol adapted to fire .38 calibre bullets. It had a silencer attached but due to the damage from the fire, it could not be test-fired.

McDonnell had suffered two bullet wounds. One entered the left side of his chest and exited above his right nipple and caused his lung to collapse.

The other entered the left side of his face under the jawbone. It remains stuck under his shoulder blade as doctors decided against having it removed. He spent three weeks in a coma following surgery and suffers ongoing difficulties.

In his victim impact statement, which was read out by Small, McDonnell said he had raised five children in Tallaght where he owned his own home, set up a business and was a hard-working, respected member of his community.

Since the shooting, he has left Ireland out of fear for his and his family's safety and is no longer able to work. For months after the attack, he used a walking frame and couldn't hold a cup or open a bottle.

His breathing is impacted by the damage to his lung and his speech has been affected as one of the bullets shattered his voice box. He suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, he said, and ongoing emotional and psychological issues.

He said he is an "entirely innocent party" who did nothing to provoke or contribute to what happened.

"I was targeted despite playing no part in the circumstances that gave rise to this incident," he said.

He asked the court to take into account that he and his family will suffer the consequences of what happened for the rest of their lives.

He added: "I also ask that you consider my profound sense of betrayal by the actions of Craig Hayes, someone I trusted."

Hayes was linked to the crime through CCTV footage showing him purchasing mobile phone sim cards that were used to contact the sellers of three cars that were used in the hit.

Dunne's DNA was also found on a balaclava and a pair of gloves found in the passenger side footwell of a Volkswagen Golf that was used as one of the getaway vehicles.

Hayes's DNA was found on a glove and balaclava found on the driver's seat of the same car.

Det Gda Harrisson agreed that the motive for the attempted murder pertained to a family member of the victim who was alleged to owe money.

John Fitzgerald, for Hayes, said his client had difficulties growing up. He began using cannabis at the age of 12 and moved on to cocaine and tablets at the age of 15.

He has suffered from psychological issues and used drugs to self-medicate, which led to his involvement in the drugs trade.

Since being in prison, he has become an enhanced prisoner and completed courses in education, non-violence, anxiety, overdose prevention and others.

He said his client accepts he will receive a lengthy sentence but intends to continue to make progress while in custody and when he is released.

Judge McDermott adjourned sentencing until July 31st.