GUILTY OF KILLING ROY

The duo will be sentenced to life in prison following a two-hour summary of the evidence of the marathon murder trial.

Wayne Dundon (36) of Lenihan Avenue, Prospect, Limerick and Nathan Killeen (24) of Hyde Road, Prospect, Limerick both pleaded not guilty to the murder of the 35-year-old Roy Collins at Coin Castle Amusements, Roxboro Road Shopping Centre in April 2009.

Judge Iseult O'Malley said in the Special Criminal Court that it was undoubtedly the case that witness Anthony McCarthy's evidence was that Wayne Dundon ordered James Dillon to kill Roy Collins.

evidence

McCarthy's evidence was "coherent and plausible" she said.

The judge said there was forensic evidence that proved Nathan Killeen, who drove the getaway car, had been in close contact with firearm residue on the morning of the shooting.

The State claimed that Wayne Dundon directed the murder from prison while Killeen was the getaway driver and James Dillon was the gunman.

Dillon was previously convicted of the murder after admitting his role.

The court heard a 9mm pistol was found three years later near a rugby club by men doing community service and that it matched up to a cartridge found at the murder scene

gunpoint

Nathan Killeen and James Dillon were arrested shortly after the murder following a chase through Limerick by gardai. Killeen was arrested at gunpoint hiding in an attic and firearms residue was later found on his tracksuit bottoms

Convicted murderer Anthony 'Noddy' McCarthy (32) previously told the court his first cousin, Wayne Dundon, ordered the murder.

McCarthy wrote a handwritten letter to gardai on April 5, 2011, and made a statement to gardai on September 9, 2013.

He said "a lot of innocent people were getting killed, which really got to me, to my conscience, my mind ... the whole time".

McCarthy, who has served 11 years of a life sentence for the murder of Limerick crime boss Kieran Keane, told the non-jury trial that he heard Wayne Dundon "shouting, roaring and screaming" from his cell in Wheatfield Prison on the morning of the shooting on April 9, 2009.

McCarthy claimed that he heard Dundon say on the morning of the shooting "You better do this. You never did nothing for the family before. If you don't do this, you and your mother will be sorry."

He said Dundon was "hyper" that morning, and he asked him "what's the story?"

"He told me he ordered James Dillon to go and kill Roy Collins. I said he shouldn't talk to James as he's only a young fella and he's not into violence."

The defence has suggested that McCarthy must have been "psychic" as every other witness in the case has said that publican Steve Collins was the intended target and not his son, a 35-year-old father of two.

McCarthy said at the time that a number of prisoners were in talks with the Limerick regeneration agencies in the city "to end the feud", and wanted to discourage Dundon from ordering the shooting.

shooting

However, he said he thought the shooting could have been in a week's time, rather than on that day.

He told the court he wanted to talk to Dessie Dundon, brother of the accused, who was also serving a life sentence in Wheatfield prison, to urge him to get Wayne Dundon to call off the shooting, especially as it followed the murder of another innocent man Shane Geoghegan in Kilteragh, Dooradoyle in November, 2008.

McCarthy said he knew there would be "an even bigger outcry" from the public following this murder.

He said he had a phone in his own prison cell, and was planning to contact his family to warn the family of Roy Collins of the threat on his life.

However, while in lock-down he said he turned on Aertel teletext and claimed he read that a man had been shot in a pub in Limerick.

He said he "knew it was Roy Collins", but was happy as he mistakenly believed he had only been shot in the leg and would survive.

He also claimed Dundon said: "That f***ing muppet Gareth Collins wouldn't drive the car".

Criminal Gareth Collins earlier gave evidence in the case and claimed he was offered €20,000 to take part in the killing of publican Steve Collins, the father of Roy Collins.

Gareth Collins said that he repeatedly refused to be the getaway driver in the killing, and said that Wayne Dundon told him by mobile phone from his prison cell to be the driver.

hnews@herald.ie