Getaway driver 'fall guy' jailed for 15 years after murder
Mr Justice Henry Abbott said the sentence for the "heinous" killing of Eddie Ryan Snr reflected the "vile and outrageous proportions" that the Limerick feud had taken on.
In sentencing Paul Coffey (26), the judge described Mr Ryan's killing in November 2000 as a "quantum leap" in a feud that now involved "subversive groups acting with arms".
But he suspended seven years of the jail term for Coffey - who was described in court as a "fall guy" and "not the brightest in the world" - saying he was not the main player and was "easily led".
Mr Ryan (41) was gunned down in a hail of bullets fired by two men with handguns who burst into the Moose Bar in Limerick where he was drinking on November 12, 2000 after the funeral of his brother-in-law.
His death, from 11 gunshot wounds, followed a series of increasingly serious gang crimes.
These had started with a schoolyard fight between two girls from the feuding families - the Ryan and Keane-McCarthy clans.
The gunmen fired another seven shots upon leaving the bar.
Although Mr Ryan was clearly the target, three drinkers were also injured, one seriously.
The court heard Coffey, whose last address was at Craeval Park, Moyross, Limerick, agreed to drive a stolen car for the gunmen and set fire to it after helping them escape.
But Coffey did not know what was planned when he agreed to drive for the pair, although he realised they were going to shoot someone when they donned balaclavas in the car, the court heard.
"He was not the main player. He was not the person who set out to plan it in detail, and, indeed, was not a person capable of planning the various stages that might be necessary," Mr Justice Abbott said.
Coffey was originally tried for Mr Ryan's murder and pleaded not guilty.
But the trial ended in July when he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and the plea was accepted by the prosecution.
Coffey, who has prior convictions for weapons and violence offences, suffered from learning difficulties at school.
He apologised to the Ryan family for his part in the killing.
And he added: "I would like to say I'm very sorry to the Ryan family for what happened.
"If I had have known (what was to occur) I would not be sitting here today," he said.
Mr Ryan's widow, Mary Ryan, declined to comment after the sentence.
Det Sgt James Ryan said Mrs Ryan and her daughter and two sons had been traumatised by the killing. Mr Ryan's murder was the "catalyst" for the feud, and "every kind of criminal activity imaginable" had occurred since.
Mr Justice Abbott recommended that the prison authorities give Coffey psychiatric and psychological help to deal with his depression and drug abuse.
Coffey also claimed that he had been sexually abused.
Mr Justice Abbott suspended part of the sentence on the condition that Coffey not be convicted of any violence or vehicle theft offences during its duration of the treatment.
- Rick Wallace
