Three jailed for manslaughter of Darren Coughlan
Three men, who viciously assaulted Darren Coughlan (18) on 4 November 2005, were handed down six and seven year prison sentences for manslaughter.
Joseph Keane, (19) from Greenhills Road in Garryowen, the son of murdered crime boss Kieran Keane, received a six year sentence.
Richard Treacy, (18) from St. Mary’s Park, also received a six year sentence.
Shane Kelly (20) who has clocked up a whopping 71 previous convictions in his short time on Earth, received a seven year stretch.
During the trial, the court had previously been told that Mr. Coughlan was in no way connected to the feuding gangs, and apart from the odd minor public order offence, he had not come to the attention of the Gardai in the 12 months leading up to his death.
Whilst on a night out, a car stopped on the street beside Mr. Coughlan and three men demanded to know where someone called Mark Coughlan was.
One of the men pointed at him and shouted “There he is.”
Mr. Coughlan attemped to escape but tripped, allowing his attackers to catch up with him, kicking and beating him.
The court also heard that Mr. Coughlan lost conciousness while in hospital and died three days after the attack. He was kept on a life support machine after he died as he expressed a desire to have his organs donated.
During her victim impact statement, Darren’s mother told the court that she wished for the senseless killings of innocent people to stop.