A 24-year-old Ardrahan man received a life sentence for the murder of his elderly grandfather almost two years ago.
Gearoid Fahy of Carrowmona, Adrahan, Co Galway, had pleaded guilty to the murder of his 78-year-old grandfather, Finbar Fahy, at Ballinduff, Ardrahan, on November 10, 2009.
At the Central Criminal Court sitting in Galway on Tuesday, evidence was given that there had been misunderstandings regarding the ownership of the family farm and that the accused had mistakenly thought that his grandfather was going to put the land, which had been initially given to his father, into the name of another relative.
The court heard that the victim had been hit eight times over the head with a nail bar and that the fingerprints of the accused were found on the implement. Post mortem results revealed that Finbar Fahy died from blunt force trauma to the head, and that there had been defensive wounds to his hands and arms. Mr Justice Barry White imposed a life sentence backdated to November 13, 2009, when the accused first went into custody.
