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The daughter of a man shot to death in Macroom, County Cork two years ago has said she feels she and her family did not receive justice, after the man accused of her father’s murder died before his trial could begin. .
Farming and plant rental contractor Derry Coakley was shot in the arm at point blank range after he went ashore at Raleigh North in Macroom on October 23, 2018 to unload a trailer loaded with construction debris.
After being shot, Mr. Coakley (below) drove his tractor about 200 meters in an attempt to escape. He called a friend to raise the alarm, but is believed to have lost control of his tractor and crashed. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Gerard Lynch of Curaheen, Raleigh North, Macroom, was charged with the murder of Mr. Coakley four days later.
His trial was scheduled to start at Cork Central Criminal Court this morning.
However, Chief Prosecutor Siobhán Lankford told the court that the State was initiating a nolle process, or no process, because Mr. Lynch had passed away on August 21.
He said he wanted to draw the court’s attention to what Lynch had indicated before he died that he wanted to plead guilty to murder.
The Superior Council of Defense, Tim O’Leary, explained that Lynch had become ill and had pleaded guilty to homicide in May.
He said an application was filed to allow Lynch to plead guilty at home on August 10, but that he was unable to organize and that Lynch died 11 days later.
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Speaking after the court hearing, Deirdre Coakley, who was accompanied by her mother Siobhán, said she was heartbroken. She said that she and her family did not feel that today’s hearing had closed them.
“There is a black veil over him. It’s like that, he left. It’s so difficult,” he told RTÉ News.
In tribute to him after his death, Derry Coakley was described as a man to turn to for the people of Macroom, someone who was synonymous with hard work and very helpful.
“He was the most decent man I ever knew and he screwed me up,” Deirdre Coakley said. “He gave me everything I wanted and would do anything for anyone.”
She thanked the people at Macroom who had supported her after her father’s death. He said the last two years had been horrendous: “the worst two years of my life.”
“I feel like I didn’t get justice for my father, no justice was served. It’s like my worst nightmare, really.
“I always said there would be justice for Dad and the fact that we didn’t get any; this didn’t bring me any closure. Nothing will bring Dad back, but a little justice would have been nice,” he added. Deirdre Coakley said.
Deirdre Coakley, a 22-year-old business information studies student at the Cork Institute of Technology, said her father would never see her graduate, never walk her down the hall or see any children she might have.
“Today was supposed to be the day we started the trial for my dad’s case, but they are closing the case instead,” he said.
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