Life sentences for men found guilty of Peter Butterly murder
Two Dublin men have been handed life sentences for the murder of dissident republican Peter Butterly who was shot dead outside a pub in Meath in 2013.
Neither of them pulled the trigger, but they were convicted on the basis they helped to plan and execute what the judge described as his “slaughter”.
Peter Butterly was shot dead in the car park of the Huntsman Inn in Gormanston just before 2pm on March 6,2013.
Edward McGrath from Springfield in Tallaght drove the gunman to the scene, and his co-accused Sharif Kelly of Pinewood Green Road in Balbriggan was identified as the driver of a car that was due to take them away from the area after they’d burnt out the getaway car.
Both were convicted of murder and handed mandatory life sentences today.
The suspected gunman was also arrested when Gardaí intercepted the car driven by McGrath. He failed to attend his trial and is still on the run.
A self-confessed accomplice called David Cullen was also charged with murder but he turned State witness and the charge was dropped.
He is now in the Witness Protection Programme.
In her Victim Impact Statement, Peter Butterly’s wife Eithne described her husband as a “devoted and loving father” to their three children and she said their lives have been shattered forever.
