Overview
- Shots were fired at an unofficial halting site in Kilcruttin, Tullamore on 21 March 2025, leaving Michael and Anthony McDonagh wounded by pellet injuries the prosecution said came from twelve-gauge cartridges.
- A Central Criminal Court jury returned majority not-guilty verdicts for Patrick 'Pa' Ward and John Pio Ward on 28 May 2026 after deliberating for four hours and 20 minutes, and Mr Justice Paul McDermott discharged the men and excused jurors from service for five years.
- The jury rejected the McDonagh brothers' identification evidence, and both defendants relied on alibi witnesses who placed them elsewhere on the night in question.
- Prosecutors presented no recovered firearms or direct forensic links to the accused, and hospital notes show the victims initially declined to give statements while on painkillers and recovering from trauma.
- The case highlights a wider problem for prosecutions of community-based violence where close personal ties, contested recognition and missing physical evidence can leave serious incidents unresolved and heighten local tensions.