A father-of-five who was shot dead at his mother’s home in Dublin more than two years ago had been due to return to his home in England just hours later, the Central Criminal Court has heard.
Thomas McCarthy (55) was gunned down when he answered the door at the house in Ballyfermot on July 27, 2020.
The court heard Mr McCarthy, who suffered nine separate gunshot injuries, was not known to have any involvement in criminality and there was "no explanation" for what had happened.
READ MORE - Two men arrested over July 2020 shooting of Thomas McCarthy in Ballyfermot, Dublin
Mr McCarthy’s mother Pauline McCarthy, who witnessed the shooting, said nothing could describe the "complete devastation" and the "heartache and loss" her son’s death had caused the family.
At a sentencing hearing yesterday, for Charles McClean (34), of St Mark’s Drive, Clondalkin and Mark Lee (32) from Balgaddy in Lucan, Co Dublin, who have admitted facilitating a criminal organisation in the fatal shooting of Mr McCarthy, his mother described her 55-year-old son as "the kindest, most generous person" who had a "heart of gold".
She said Mr McCarthy had jumped up to open the door to what he thought was the postman and told how she will never forget the look in her son’s "beautiful piercing blue eyes" as he turned to look at her after he had been shot.
Ms McCarthy made her comments in a victim impact statement read to the court on her behalf during the hearing for McClean, who pleaded guilty that between January 25 and July 27, 2020 inclusive, with knowledge of the existence of a criminal organisation, he intentionally or recklessly committed an act to facilitate the murder of Mr McCarthy, and Lee who admitted to the same charge between July 26 and July 27, 2020.
Ms McCarthy told how she relives the day "over and over" and said she had been living in "complete hell" since the day her son was killed in "the place he loved" and the "place he should have been safe".
She relayed how Mr McCarthy had spent the previous weeks in Dublin visiting family and was due to go back to his home in England that evening. She said July 27 was the day that would "rip our hearts out" and change their families’ lives forever.
"He’s the last thing I think of before I go to sleep and the first thing I think of when I wake up," she said. "Thomas was the apple of my eye and I have an emptiness inside me which can never be reversed."
In her victim impact statement which was read to the court, Mr McCarthy’s partner Mia O’Reilly said her family’s world had been "destroyed" and "changed forever" on the day he died.
She said prior to the shooting she had been optimistic for the future but now she suffers from panic attacks and can’t sleep at night.
Ms O’Reilly told the court she faces an uncertain financial future as she and Mr McCarthy had not been married. She said she and her children had "dreaded" returning home to the "family nest" in England without Mr McCarthy and said her partner is constantly in her thoughts.
She said she now faces "a future full of sadness" and questions "why did this happen".
"I still to this day think they had the wrong person. The wrong house. Thomas was a good person."
Mr McCarthy’s niece, Danielle McCarthy, said her uncle had been a "father figure" to her growing up and said the morning of July 27, 2020 was the first time she "felt true heartache" as she kneeled on her grandmother’s floor holding Thomas’s hand telling him it would be okay, that the ambulance was coming.
The court heard the deceased man had lived in England for many years but returned home regularly to visit family and had been home for three weeks when he was gunned down after opening the front door of his family’s home in Ballyfermot.
Detective Sergeant Ronan McDermott told Bernard Condon SC, for the DPP, that Mr McCarthy was a resident of the UK but was staying at the family home at the time the incident occurred.
He said on the morning of the shooting, Mr McCarthy had brought his brother to a hospital appointment and the two men had only been home for a few minutes when a man was seen walking up the driveway.
The court heard that Mr McCarthy’s brother said "don’t open the door" but Mr McCarthy went out to answer it and was shot a number of times in the upper torso, head and arms.
Shortly before he was shot, a man was seen getting out of the driver side of a blue Ford Fiesta car and following the shooting he was seen going getting back into the car and it then drove away.
The court heard this car was subsequently driven to another location where it was set alight and the man, referred to in court as Mr A, then got into a silver Skoda Octavia which had been parked up waiting.
That car then drove away and was seen on CCTV in Clondalkin.
Det Sgt McDermott confirmed people living in the area could see a person running away from that car and it was also set on fire. The person was then seen getting in a black Toyota Avensis driven by someone else which made its way to Castlegate Walk in Adamstown.
Det Sgt McDermott said a black Mercedes jeep was then seen driving from Castlegate Walk to the home of Mr McClean where it remains for a few minutes before Mr A comes out and gets into the passenger side of the vehicle wearing a distinctive red jumper. CCTV footage shows him back at work wearing the jumper which he had not been wearing when he arrived for work that morning.
The court was told the Mercedes jeep was linked to Charles McClean and a silver Audi A4, registered to Mark Lee, was observed in convoy with the blue Fiesta the night before the murder when the Fiesta was moved "into situ" in Ballyfermot.
Det Sgt McDermott confirmed to Mr Condon that the silver Audi picked up the driver of the Ford Fiesta and then left the area.
He confirmed to counsel that a post-mortem carried out identified nine separate gunshot injuries sustained by Mr McCarthy which were all in the back of the body except for one.
The detective sergeant agreed with Mr Condon that Mr McCarthy wasn’t known for any criminality of any nature and there was "no explanation" for what happened.
The court heard the deceased had been with his partner, Mia O’Reilly, for 31 years. They had two children together and Mr McCarthy also had three other children.
A gun was found in the burned out Ford Fiesta and forensic experts were able to determine it was a 9mm calibre which was consistent with the bullets found at the scene.
A number of the vehicles used in the shooting had been bought on Done Deal and registered with false details, the court heard.
The black Mercedes jeep was registered to McClean’s partner and Mark Lee had been the registered owner of the Skoda Octavia before he sold it or traded it in on August 3, 2020 the court was told.
The court heard Charles McClean has 20 previous convictions, including conspiracy to commit murder over the September 2019 attempted murder of Wayne Whelan, for which he received an eight-year sentence. Whelan survived the murder attempt but was subsequently shot dead following another attack in November 2018.
Mark Lee has four previous convictions for public order and road traffic offences.
Michael Bowman SC, for McClean, said his client had entered a plea in advance of the anticipated trial date and asked the court to take this into consideration.
Counsel for Lee, Patrick McGrath SC, also asked the court to take into account the fact that his client had entered a plea of guilty at an early stage.
He said his client’s involvement had been in the logistical planning and he had not been at the scene on the day of the shooting.
He put it to Det Sgt McDermott that while Lee "may not be at the bottom of the organisation" he would be lower down, towards the bottom. The detective sergeant agreed this was the case.
He told the court his client wished to offer his apologies to the court and to the deceased man’s family.
He said his client had had considerable health difficulties since 2019 and asked the court to allow Lee to remain on bail until sentence is passed.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott remanded Lee on continuing bail and McClean in custody to April 27 for sentencing.
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