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A woman has been sentenced to six years and three months after admitting she helped facilitate the murder of a young man in an attack tied to the Hutch‑Kinahan gangland feud. The court heard she bought petrol that was later used to burn out the getaway car following the killing in October 2017.
What prosecutors say happened
The victim, Jamie Tighe‑Ennis, 24, was shot in the head while walking along Moatview Avenue in Coolock in the early hours of 28 October 2017. Gardaí found a burnt-out black Audi in Finglas shortly afterwards.
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The killing remains unsolved, but a single count on the indictment accused the defendant of facilitating a criminal organisation in the commission of the murder between 27 and 28 October 2017.
Evidence linking the defendant to the scene
Court testimony described several strands of evidence. CCTV reportedly captured the defendant filling a red jerry can at a Topaz petrol station; the can was later discovered in the burnt Audi. A phone recovered from the vehicle contained material that connected her to the case.
Investigators also tracked a limited-edition bottle of wine sold at a small number of outlets to the Priorswood Inn in Clonshaugh. Mr Tighe‑Ennis had been socialising there on the night he was killed, and the court heard the pair briefly met outside the pub before he returned inside.
Phone mast records showed multiple calls from the defendant to Mr Tighe‑Ennis that night and again the following morning.
Court proceedings and background
The defendant, 46, identified in court as Ciara Mahony, gave an early guilty plea to the single count. She was extradited from Birmingham last year to face the charge, having been arrested in October 2018 and initially released while a file was sent to the DPP.
The Director of Public Prosecutions authorised prosecution in November 2024. The offence of facilitating a criminal organisation carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Mitigation, impact and sentence
At sentencing, defence counsel said Mahony was aware a “very serious offence” was planned but argued she did not necessarily expect Mr Tighe‑Ennis to be killed. The court heard she had a severe crack‑cocaine addiction at the time and was under the influence of people involved in organised crime, with an element of what counsel described as coercive control.
A victim impact statement, read by Detective Sergeant Domhnall O’Connell, recorded the anguish of Mr Tighe‑Ennis’s family. His father, Kevin Ennis, told the court: “How would you feel if it was your child? You can rot in hell.”
Judge Martin Nolan said he believed the defendant was unlikely to reoffend but concluded a custodial sentence was warranted. Mahony, originally from Artane and with an address in Ballyboden, was noted to have no previous convictions beyond some road traffic matters.
