Patrick Quirke’s lawyers have urged the Supreme Court to order a retrial for their client.
In 2019 the farmer from Breanshamore near Tipp Town was found guilty of murdering local DJ, Bobby ‘Mr Moonlight’ Ryan eight years beforehand.
Two months ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the seizure of Patrick Quirke’s computer, as part of the Garda investigation into the murder of Bobby Ryan, was unlawful because the warrant used to search his home made no reference to it.
While it was okay for Gardaí to take the computer away, it decided it wasn’t okay for them to access it without proper judicial assessment.
It was seen as a big win for Quirke in his attempt to overturn his conviction and today, the court heard submissions as to what should happen next.
Despite its decision, lawyers for the State claimed the Supreme Court can, and should, rule the computer evidence to be admissible.
However, Quirke’s legal argued that a trial judge is the best person to resolve such issues and urged the court to order a retrial.
A decision will be made on a later date.
