A man has been found guilty of the murder of Gillian Curran in Waterford city last year.
Following a jury deliberation of 12 hours across three days, Marcus O’Neill (35) of 15 O’Brien Street was convicted of murder on a majority verdict today of 10-2. He had denied murdering his partner, 47-year-old Tramore woman Gillian Curran, and was on trial before Ms Justice Caroline Biggs at a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Waterford for the past three weeks.
Ms Curran was found unresponsive with significant injuries by paramedics at 15 O’Brien Street on the morning of 25 January 2025. Mr O’Neill claimed that she had fallen a number of times the previous night when they were drinking alcohol together at the house, and he had found her on the ground of the living room when he woke up and came downstairs.
During the trial, he was represented by Roisin Lacey SC and Tom Giles Kelly BL, instructed by solicitor Derrick Connors. Conor O’Doherty SC and Niall Storan BL acted as prosecuting counsel on behalf of the state.
The jury of seven women and five men heard evidence from Gardaí who attended the scene, paramedics, neighbours of the accused who heard ‘aggressive’ shouting from the property and colleagues of Ms Curran who noticed injuries to her throughout several months prior to her death.
Garda body-worn camera footage was also used as evidence for the first time ever in a criminal trial in Ireland.
Several expert witnesses also gave evidence, including Sandra McGrath of Forensic Science Ireland and Detective Garda Janette O’Neill, who both have expertise in blood pattern analysis, as well as State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers.
Dr Okkers told the jury that from conducting a post-mortem on Ms Curran, she found her cause of death to be multiple blunt force trauma injuries to her head and abdomen, which were ‘most consistent’ with a ‘sustained’ assault.
The pathologist said Ms Curran sustained 143 external injuries, such as bruises and abrasions, to her body, as well as several internal injuries such as a perforation of her small bowel and a laceration to her right kidney.
Statement from Ms Curran’s family
Following the verdict, Ms Curran’s family said in a statement: “From the hundreds of heartfelt condolences we have received since her death, it is clear that Gillian was much loved by her friends and colleagues. Her siblings and extended family will never forget her, and miss her dearly. Gillian, like many vulnerable women across Ireland, did not deserve her violent end. As a family, we did not deserve to be dragged through the awful details of her death because of the cowardly decision of her callous killer not to plead guilty.”
“We are very relieved that the jury has found the defendant guilty, and we thank them for their duty and commitment in this matter. We also thank profusely the Waterford Gardaí and the DPP who fought so hard for justice for Gillian. The Gardaí have been so kind to the family, and treated us with such respect and dignity throughout the process.
“The past 18 months and in particular the last month have been harrowing for our family, and we thank all who have supported us throughout this period; it is much appreciated. We are not the first family to have to confront the effects of domestic violence, and we encourage people to support the work of organisations such as Women’s Aid, who are doing a brilliant job highlighting the issue and providing such important services to combat this scourge on our society.
“We will always remember Gillian with love and are happy that Justice has been served,” the statement from Ms Curran’s family concluded.
Jury deliver majority verdict
During their deliberations, the jury asked for several transcripts, including evidence from Gardaí, Dr Okkers, as well as closing speeches made by Ms Lacey and Mr O’Doherty. The jury members additionally re-viewed CCTV and Garda body-worn camera footage that was used during the trial, and listened to a recording of a 999 call made by Mr O’Neill on the morning of 25 January.
After the jury had deliberated for over 11 hours, they told Ms Justice Biggs today (Thursday 30 July) that they could not come to a unanimous decision. The judge informed them that a majority verdict of 11-1 or 10-2 would be acceptable from that point onwards.
The jury returned shortly after this with a verdict, when they had been deliberating for a total of 12 hours.
Ms Justice Biggs set a sentencing date for 12 October in Dublin, but indicated that this can be brought forward to September at the request of Ms Curran’s family. The judge said a mandatory life sentence will be imposed on Mr O’Neill, as he, in the verdict of the jury, “beat Ms Curran to death, and that is the only option in terms of sentencing.”
Mr O’Doherty made an application for a victim impact statement to be sought from Ms Curran’s family in advance of the sentencing hearing.
Ms Justice Biggs thanked the jury for their service throughout the trial, acknowledging that they had to deal with “very dark material”. The judge also thanked Gardaí, commending them for their work in the case.
Read more coverage of this trial in next week’s edition of The Munster Express, out on Tuesday 4 August.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
