0:00

You are listening to the Men's Rhea Podcast,

0:03

and this is the story

0:06

of Dara Conroy.

0:40

Mount Melick is a town in County Leish

0:42

that sits at the eastern edge of the sleeve-bloom

0:45

mountains. It has a rich Quaker history,

0:47

with settlers arriving in the 17th

0:49

century to found breweries, distilleries,

0:52

woolen mills, tanneries and glassworks.

0:54

Its role as the leading textile

0:56

producer during the Industrial Revolution

0:58

gave rise to the town's nickname of the

1:00

Manchester of Ireland.

1:02

However, this declined during the Great

1:04

Famine and the population of the town decreased

1:07

by more than a third. By 2003, the

1:10

population of Mount Melick sat at just

1:12

over 3,000, though this was on

1:14

the rise as new housing estates were being

1:16

built.

1:17

The once quiet town was beginning to

1:19

change and the new estates, along

1:22

with the lack of employment in the community,

1:24

had led some locals to feel that the town

1:27

was getting rough.

1:29

At 10 to 11 on the night

1:31

of 11 November 2003, Gardee at

1:34

Port Lish Garda station

1:36

were alerted to the discovery of a body

1:38

on waste ground adjoining a soccer

1:40

pitch in an area known as Smith's Field

1:43

on the outskirts of the town.

1:45

The initial call to Gardee came from a 16-year-old

1:48

girl who'd been concerned when a friend of hers

1:50

had rang her to tell that someone had been killed

1:52

on the patch of wasteland.

1:54

The parish field, located between a

1:56

local authority housing estate and the river

1:59

Onus was

2:00

used mainly for sporting and community

2:02

events. However, at night

2:04

it also served as a popular meeting spot

2:07

for the town's youth, who would gather in the waste

2:09

ground on its perimeter to drink and

2:11

hang out. Garda Columhanen

2:13

was dispatched to the location and

2:16

on a secluded narrow pathway that

2:18

was almost covered with briars. He

2:20

found the body of 14-year-old Dara

2:22

Conroy, who he recognised immediately.

2:25

Dara was lying in

2:27

a pool of blood, apparently having suffered

2:29

massive head injuries. Two

2:31

priests were called to administer the last

2:33

rites and a local doctor attended the scene

2:36

and pronounced the boy dead, noting

2:38

that he had a massive, depressed skull

2:40

fracture. Dara Conroy

2:43

was a second-year student at Mount Melick

2:45

Community School. An only child,

2:48

Dara lived with his mother in an apartment

2:50

in the town following his parents' separation. Teachers

2:53

described him as an enthusiastic

2:55

student, while friends and classmates

2:57

said he was a quiet but happy-go-lucky

3:00

lad who loved skateboarding, art

3:02

and garage music.

3:03

He had just turned 14 the previous month.

3:07

On the morning of his murder, Dara's mother Patricia

3:09

Conroy said that her son got ready for school

3:11

as she got ready for work.

3:13

She left the flash at 8.25am to travel to her

3:16

job at a solicitor's office in Port Leish.

3:19

At 9am, Dara rang her to say

3:22

that he had an earache and that his ear was

3:24

oozing.

3:25

Patricia told him to go back to bed and that she would

3:27

pick up a repeat prescription of antibiotics

3:30

for him.

3:31

She spoke to her son on the phone a number of times

3:33

throughout the day, checking in on him to see

3:35

how he was doing. Just before 5pm

3:38

as she got ready to leave for work and head home, Patricia

3:41

called Dara to ask what he wanted for dinner.

3:43

He told her he wanted sweet and sour chicken

3:46

and said that he was going to meet some friends in the town.

3:48

When

3:49

she got home at half past five, her

3:51

son was still out but when he hadn't

3:53

returned by six, she became concerned.

3:56

Patricia tried calling Dara on his

3:58

mobile phone which she had

4:00

bought from a few weeks before so they could

4:02

stay in touch while he was out and about, but

4:04

she kept getting a message saying that the phone

4:06

was out of service.

4:08

She became increasingly worried as the evening

4:11

went on, and at 8pm she went

4:13

out to look for Dara going up and down the road

4:15

to see if she could find him. Worried

4:17

that he may have fallen into the nearby river,

4:20

she went up to the Onus at Smiths Field

4:22

but found no sign of him. By

4:25

this time she was frantic and her

4:27

repeated calls and text messages remained

4:29

unanswered. As Patricia

4:31

continued her search into the night, something

4:34

else was stirring in the town.

4:36

News had started to trickle through the local

4:38

youth that something had happened to Dara.

4:41

One teenager named Emmet Houlihan

4:43

had phoned his friend, 16-year-old

4:45

Dara Goodwin, whom

4:47

he had known for most of his life.

4:50

Goodwin told Houlihan that he had some quote,

4:52

scary shit to tell him. They

4:54

met up at 9pm and Dara Goodwin

4:56

said quote, I'm after killing Dara

4:59

Conroy.

5:00

Hulahan initially thought that Goodwin was only

5:02

joking.

5:03

However, at 10pm Goodwin took

5:05

Hulahan and three other youngsters to

5:08

Smith's field to show them the body, telling

5:10

one of them that he quote, lured Dara

5:12

Conroy down the field and hit the back of

5:15

his head with a hammer a couple of times.

5:17

One of the group phoned another friend to tell her

5:19

what had happened and this friend had

5:22

rang the Gardi.

5:24

In a cruel twist, as Gardi began

5:26

conducting their inquiries and questioning locals

5:28

in Mount Melick, their paths crossed with Patricia

5:31

Conroy and her brother-in-law, who were still

5:33

out searching for Dara. Patricia

5:35

had stopped to ask the occupants of a house if anyone

5:37

had seen her son, when the woman

5:39

inside said, quote, ''Oh for God's

5:42

sake will someone tell the woman.'' A

5:44

Garda then approached Conroy and her brother-in-law

5:47

and confirmed that Dara's body had

5:49

been found. A

5:52

full murder inquiry was launched and the area

5:54

at Smithsfield was sealed office guard

5:56

a technical officer's begun a detailed forensic

5:58

examination.

6:00

combing the nearby fields and river for

6:02

evidence.

6:03

Darragh's body remained at the scene overnight

6:05

before being removed to Dublin the following afternoon

6:08

so that a full post-mortem could be carried

6:10

out by state pathologist, Mary Cassidy.

6:14

Darren Goodwin was born in 1988 to

6:17

parents, Olive Goodwin and David Horan,

6:20

who were only 16 themselves at the time

6:22

of his birth.

6:23

Liam Collins, writing for The Irish Independent,

6:26

detailed how Goodwin was raised by his mother

6:28

and grandparents the majority of his life,

6:30

living in a house in the centre of Mount Melick.

6:32

For

6:33

the first fifteen years of his life, he didn't

6:35

even know who his father was.

6:38

According to his mother, Darren had never been

6:40

violent or given any trouble during his childhood.

6:42

However, in the autumn of 2003, he

6:46

started to go off the rails, spiralling

6:48

so far out of control that he was known to

6:51

randomly square up to people on the street and

6:53

hit them.

6:54

Other teens and even adults would cross

6:56

the road in Mount Melick to avoid bumping into

6:58

him. There seemed to be no

7:01

real sense or reason to this change

7:03

in his personality and his mother struggled to

7:05

cope with it. In a misguided attempt

7:07

to straighten him out, Goodwin was sent to live with

7:09

his father, who he had no relationship

7:12

with prior to the move.

7:14

Olive said quote, we were trying to put

7:16

him on the right track. The hope

7:18

was that the male guidance an influence

7:20

of his father would help to calm Darren down.

7:23

However, the situation deteriorated further

7:26

and, as a result, Goodwin was suspended

7:28

twice from school. Two

7:30

months before the murder, he attempted suicide.

7:33

He was brought to St. Fintons Hospital in Port

7:36

Leish but was released soon after, with

7:38

doctors telling his parents that there was nothing

7:40

wrong with him.

7:42

He returned to school and his behaviour

7:44

continued to worsen.

7:46

In the days leading up to the murder, Goodwin

7:48

had had told his friends that he, quote, wanted

7:50

to kill someone, someone no one would really

7:52

care about, like Derek Conroy.

7:55

Goodwin was taken into custody for questioning

7:58

in the early hours of November 12th.

8:01

2003. Accompanied by his father, David Horne,

8:04

Goodwin was subjected to a number of interviews

8:06

over the next few hours where he maintained his

8:08

innocence.

8:10

Following the fourth interview, he was left

8:12

in the company of Horne for some time, after

8:14

which Horne approached the team and said that his

8:16

son was willing to admit his part in

8:18

the death of Conroy.

8:21

Goodwin was charged with assault causing

8:23

harm under section 4 of the Non-Fatal

8:25

Offences Against the Person Act. Act.

8:27

At a special sitting of the Carlo District

8:29

Court on the evening of November 13, the teenager

8:32

was remanded in custody to Oberstown

8:34

House, a detention campus in County

8:37

Dublin that caters to juveniles between the ages

8:39

of 12 and 18. In

8:41

a town where violent crime was

8:43

virtually unknown, locals in

8:46

Mount Melick were stunned following the brutal

8:48

murder.

8:49

Melanie Finn, writing for The Irish Independent,

8:51

said that the killing had quote, robbed a

8:53

thriving town of its innocence and

8:56

left locals asking why. The

8:58

callous nature of the crime as well as the youth of

9:00

both Conroy and Goodwin added to

9:02

the shock for locals with many describing

9:05

it as tragic and senseless.

9:07

One woman said quote, two families

9:09

are destroyed over this, what is Mount Melick coming

9:11

to? Following Goodwin's

9:14

arrest, officers retrieved a blood-stained

9:16

hammer that they believed to be the murder weapon,

9:19

hidden behind a sheet of corrugated steel

9:21

in the garden of his grandparents' house.

9:24

A bloodied towel was also uncovered

9:26

during this search, concealed inside a

9:28

box in one of the bedrooms.

9:30

Dara's

9:30

cream and gold Nokia 3510

9:34

phone was not on his body when it was

9:36

found, leading Garde to believe that

9:38

robbery may have been the motive for his attack,

9:41

and because of this, his death was quickly

9:43

labelled a quote-unquote mobile

9:45

phone killing.

9:47

The post-mortem revealed that he had suffered

9:49

six separate blows to the head,

9:52

five of which were quote, inflicted

9:54

in rapid succession with considerable

9:56

force while he was lying on the ground.

9:59

the first blow had knocked him down, and

10:01

the other five caused major damage

10:03

to his skull and brain, leaving

10:05

a round imprint where they hit.

10:09

Pupils of Mount Melick Community School,

10:11

of which both Dara Conroy and Dara

10:14

Goodwin were students, were said to be traumatised

10:16

by the murder, and the school offered counselling

10:19

as they attempted to come to terms with the senseless

10:21

tragedy. Dara's

10:23

body was released on Friday 14th

10:26

November, and his remains were brought to was honed

10:28

to lie in repose overnight.

10:30

His friends attended the wake,

10:32

gathering around his body to style his hair

10:35

with wax the way he liked it and to pack

10:37

his coffin with CDs, poems

10:39

and cigarettes.

10:41

The next morning he was brought to St Joseph's

10:43

Church for a requiem mass.

10:47

In poignant scenes, students and teachers

10:49

from Mount Melick Community School and the Boys'

10:51

National School, which Dara had attended

10:53

for his primary education, formed a

10:56

guard of honour as the funeral courtage

10:58

made its way through the town.

11:00

Hundreds of mourners packed into the overcrowded

11:03

church to pay tribute to Darragh's short

11:05

life, and floral tributes

11:07

decorated the altar.

11:09

Resting on his coffin was a frame containing

11:11

the last photo that had been taken of him

11:14

before his death. The school

11:16

choir accompanied the moving ceremony

11:18

with parish priest Fr Frank McNamara

11:21

telling the congregation that it was not just Mount

11:23

melic that had been touched by the loss of such

11:25

a young life, but that people from all over

11:28

Ireland had been affected. There

11:30

were highly emotional scenes as Dara's

11:32

body was placed into the back of the hearse after

11:34

the mass, with mourners moving forward

11:36

to express condolences to the family.

11:39

Such was the outpouring of grief

11:41

that it took the funeral courtage 40 minutes

11:44

to make its way the short distance to

11:46

St Joseph's graveyard.

11:48

As the coffin was lowered into the ground, Dara's

11:50

heartbroken mother Patricia wept as

11:53

she whispered, Why?

11:55

In a show of support the family and local

11:57

community, Menge Malek Community School

12:00

opened its doors to the mourners who had attended

12:02

the funeral, providing refreshments and

12:04

drinks as Dara's family and friends gathered

12:06

to share their grief. In the days

12:09

following the funeral, Dara's parents said

12:11

that they were overwhelmed by the kindness

12:14

and generosity of the community, especially

12:16

the young people. They said, quote,

12:19

''All their little gifts, letters,

12:21

poems and CDs that they left for Dara

12:24

were greatly appreciated.

12:26

You would never think that something like this is going to

12:28

happen. Kids should not

12:30

have to deal with this kind of thing.

12:42

This episode is sponsored in part by the

12:44

good folks over at HelloFresh.

12:46

HelloFresh is America's number one meal kit,

12:49

delivering you fresh, pre-portioned ingredients

12:51

and easy to follow recipes so you can

12:53

have a quick and delicious home-cooked meal

12:56

in a snap. With HelloFresh, you

12:58

pick the meals that look good to you and avoid

13:00

searching shops for the ingredients you need,

13:03

time wasted waiting in lines, and

13:05

food waste because they only send you

13:07

what you need. It's all delivered right to your

13:09

door so it couldn't be easier to have home

13:11

cooked meals. HelloFresh has 40 recipes

13:14

and over 100 seasonal and convenience

13:16

items to choose from each week, so there's

13:19

no fear of getting bored or ending up back

13:21

on the bean on toast rut. And if you're

13:23

anything like me and struggle with lunch and

13:26

snacks during the day, HelloFresh has you covered

13:28

there too with easy lunches, snacks,

13:30

and even meals for seasonal celebrations

13:32

or festive gatherings. HelloFresh really

13:35

takes all the work out of cooking. I

13:37

forget sometimes all the organization

13:39

that goes into getting meals on plates, and

13:41

HelloFresh takes care of all of that so you

13:43

can focus on the fun in making meals and trying

13:46

new things. I'm delighted to say that right

13:48

now, HelloFresh is offering mens rea

13:50

listeners an amazing deal. and

13:52

use the code mensrea50 and you'll

13:54

get 50% off.

14:00

Plus your first box ships free. There's

14:02

a reason why HelloFresh is America's number

14:04

one meal kit, so give it a try. Head to

14:06

hellofresh.com forward slash

14:09

mensreia50 and use the code mensreia50

14:11

and you'll get 50% off and your first

14:14

box shipped free.

14:17

Darren Goodwin's trial opened on

14:19

Monday the 19th of July 2004. He

14:22

had turned 16 in the months following

14:24

the murder but as he was still a minor he had

14:27

not been named in the media and this anonymity

14:29

was extended throughout the trial.

14:32

He pleaded not guilty to the murder of

14:34

Dara Conroy. In

14:36

his opening speech, prosecuting council,

14:38

Anthony Salmon, senior council, alleged

14:41

that the motive for the murder was robbery, as

14:43

Dara Conroy had a mobile phone that

14:46

was of interest to the accused.

14:48

This, he said, was a significant

14:50

factor in the killing.

14:52

According to Mr Salmon, Dara had

14:54

sustained traumatic force to his head from

14:56

a hammer, and that hammer was wielded

14:59

by Darren Goodwin.

15:01

The accused, he said, had spoken to his peer

15:03

group about the murder in the preceding days and

15:05

weeks,

15:06

and as a result the prosecution contended

15:08

that Goodwin had quote, formulated

15:11

the intention to cause the death of the deceased,

15:13

meaning the murder was premeditated.

15:17

The jury heard from the 16-year-old

15:19

girl who had made the initial phone call to

15:21

Gardee, having spoken to

15:23

a friend who told her that Dara had been killed.

15:26

They also heard from Detective Garda

15:28

Thomas Carey of the Garda Technical Bureau,

15:31

who attended the crime scene on the 12th of

15:33

November 2003. He

15:35

said quote, there was a large open wound

15:37

through which the brain tissue could be seen.

15:40

Detective Carey also said that he

15:42

went to Godwin's grandparents' house in Mount

15:45

Melick, where Gardee had found the

15:47

alleged murder weapon.

15:49

On the second day of the trial, Patricia Conroy

15:52

took to the stand.

15:53

During her emotional testimony, she

15:56

described the events of the morning of November

15:58

11th And how dare I- had stayed

16:00

home from school because of an earache.

16:03

She told the court that she had spoken to him numerous

16:05

times throughout the day, the last being

16:07

just before 5pm, when he told

16:09

her that he was going to meet some friends. She

16:12

said that she had become concerned when he hadn't returned

16:14

by 6, and she started ringing Dara's

16:16

phone to see where he was. Through

16:19

tears, she said, quote, When I rang,

16:21

I got the message saying his phone was out

16:23

of service.

16:24

I rang and rang and rang."

16:27

She told the jury that

16:29

her son's phone, Anokia 3510,

16:31

was only a few weeks old. The front

16:34

panel was gold, while the back of

16:36

the phone was cream in colour.

16:38

Presented with the phone in court by Mr

16:40

Salmon, Patricia said that was his

16:42

phone.

16:44

Next, the jury heard from Michael Redmond,

16:47

a 29-year-old man from Mount Melick.

16:49

Redmond had bought a phone from

16:51

the accused the week before the murder, but

16:53

it wasn't working. And when Redmond

16:56

had contacted Goodwin to complain, the

16:59

16-year-old said that he would get him another

17:01

one straight away. On the

17:03

day of the murder, Goodwin had called in

17:05

to Redmond sometime between 4pm

17:07

and 4.30.

17:08

He told Redmond that he had a phone for him and

17:11

that he would call back with it later.

17:13

At 10-6 that evening, the accused

17:15

did call back in to Redmond with a new mobile

17:18

phone.

17:19

presented with Dara Conroy's phone

17:21

in court, Redmond confirmed, quote,

17:23

that's the same phone.

17:25

He said that the day after Conroy's death,

17:28

he brought the mobile phone to Gardee

17:30

in Port Leish.

17:32

A close friend of Goodwin's testified

17:34

that the defendant had rang him late on

17:36

November 11th and confessed that he

17:38

was, quote, after killing someone and

17:40

leaving him down the banks.

17:43

Two more phone calls followed.

17:45

The friend had asked, quote, are you serious?

17:47

Goodwin replied yes. The friend then

17:50

asked, is he dead? And Goodwin

17:52

had answered

17:53

yes.

17:55

Goodwin's friend, Emmet Houlihan also

17:57

gave evidence that he had spoken to the 16-year-old.

18:00

the evening of the murder,

18:01

and on meeting him at 9pm, the

18:03

accused had made admissions to him about

18:05

killing Dara Conroy. The

18:07

witness said that he didn't believe his friend, who

18:09

would eventually take in Hulihan and three other

18:12

young men down to show them the body. Hulihan

18:15

said, quote, I didn't go

18:17

near the body, we only went halfway, I didn't

18:19

want to see the body.

18:22

Another friend, Martin Santry, told

18:24

the jury how Goodwin had said that he quote,

18:26

lured Conroy down the field and

18:29

hit the back of his head with a hammer a couple of times.

18:33

Santree said he walked 20 yards down

18:35

the field with the other youngsters before turning

18:37

back.

18:38

He said that he thought they were only messing.

18:41

The court heard how Goodwin had started to

18:43

describe how he'd killed Dara Conroy

18:45

to one acquaintance, telling him how Conroy's

18:48

blood had hit him in the eye as he struck

18:50

him with the hammer.

18:52

A classmate of Goodwin's told the court

18:54

that in the weeks before the death, he was

18:57

out with two friends when they were joined

18:59

by the accused.

19:00

He recalled Goodwin saying, quote, I

19:02

would love to kill someone, someone that no

19:04

one would care about, like Dara Conroy.

19:07

Another classmate testified

19:09

that Goodwin had once said that he,

19:11

quote, wondered what it's like to kill someone,

19:14

and that he would, quote, like to try it out

19:16

on Dara Conroy first. Writing

19:20

for the Irish Independent, Siobhan Gaffney

19:22

detailed the evidence given by state pathologist

19:25

Murray Cassidy.

19:26

On the stand, Dr Cassidy said that Dara

19:29

Conroy suffered six separate blows to

19:31

the head, five of which were inflicted

19:33

in rapid succession. She said,

19:35

quote, The young man was upright when

19:37

the first blow was struck on the right side of his

19:40

head. This blow could have caused him

19:42

to collapse to the ground and lose consciousness.

19:45

Dr Cassidy went on to say that Dara would

19:47

have been unable to defend himself because

19:49

he would have lost consciousness quickly and

19:51

died almost immediately.

19:54

She placed the time of death at around half

19:56

past six on November the 11th. The

19:58

pathologist went on to

20:00

describe in shocking detail how fragments

20:03

of Darragh's skull were found around

20:05

his collar and under his right

20:07

hand.

20:08

She said quote, his skull had been broken

20:10

up like a jigsaw and some of the

20:12

pieces had fallen out of the wound.

20:15

Goodwin's father, David Horne, told

20:18

the central criminal court how he

20:20

had only become a part of his son's life in 2003.

20:23

He said that Darragh had been living

20:25

with him for six months by November, having

20:28

spent his life up until then living

20:30

with his mother and his grandparents' house. He

20:33

explained how Goodwin had attempted

20:35

suicide in September of 2003 and that he was

20:37

very worried about

20:40

him. At a quarter past six

20:43

on November 11th 2003 with Dara Conroy likely already dead, Horan

20:48

had brought Goodwin for a counselling session

20:51

with a local nun who worked as a psychotherapist.

20:54

Horan said that in the early hours of

20:57

November 12th, Garde had called to

20:59

his house looking to talk to Darren.

21:01

He gave them permission to speak to him and

21:03

at half past 3 in the morning, Garde

21:06

came and took the boy in for questioning.

21:08

A

21:09

teacher from Mount Melick Community

21:11

School testified that on the 11th

21:13

of November, Goodwin was present in

21:16

his metalwork class.

21:17

It was the last class of the day and

21:19

Goodwin's behaviour had come to his attention.

21:22

The teacher said quote, he

21:24

had something in his pocket but he refused

21:27

to remove it. When Gardee

21:29

came to the school in the aftermath of Dara's

21:31

murder, they asked what hammers were

21:33

used at the school and it was then that the

21:35

teacher discovered that two hammers were

21:38

missing from the metalwork classroom.

21:41

On Tuesday 27th July,

21:44

Darren Goodwin's grandmother took to the

21:46

stand. She said that on the

21:48

evening of November 11th 2003

21:51

her grandson had asked her for a hammer.

21:53

Quote he often did that so it wasn't unusual

21:56

but we couldn't find a hammer.

21:58

She also testified that and accused came

22:00

to her house at about a quarter to six that evening.

22:03

It was raining, and his tracksuit

22:05

top was very wet, so he took it off

22:07

and put it in the laundry basket.

22:09

His grandmother said the cheat took it from his room

22:12

and hung it up in the kitchen to dry. When

22:14

asked by Mr Salmon if she

22:16

had used detergent on it, she replied,

22:18

quote, just a little. I dipped

22:20

it in water, but it was clean.

22:22

Her husband told the jury that he

22:25

was shown a lump hammer that was allegedly

22:27

used in the killing by Gardee following

22:29

a search of his garden on November 12th.

22:32

The hammer was found at the boundary

22:34

wall of the house, behind a sheet of galvanised

22:37

steel. The witness was shown a hammer

22:39

in court and confirmed that it was the same

22:41

hammer that was found in his garden.

22:44

However, he said the hammer wasn't his, and

22:46

he quote, never saw the hammer before in

22:48

his life. The man had

22:51

tools of his own for work, he said,

22:53

but the hammer he owned was different. It

22:55

was a claw hammer.

22:58

Evidence was also given by Garda

23:00

James Marr who found the hammer.

23:02

He had pulled the corrugated sheet away

23:04

from the wall and, as he looked down behind

23:07

it, had spotted the tool.

23:09

Garda Marr also told the court that

23:11

while searching the bedrooms of the house he came

23:13

across several empty mobile phone

23:15

boxes. Inside one

23:17

of the boxes he had found a towel which

23:20

had some dried bloodstains on it.

23:23

Garda Colum Hannon gave evidence of

23:25

finding the body of Dara Conroy

23:28

shortly before midnight on November 11th.

23:31

Garda Hannon said, quote, he

23:33

was cold, it was my belief that he

23:36

had been dead for some time.

23:38

The guard went on to describe the wasteland

23:40

where the discovery was made,

23:42

saying it was a fairly secluded area,

23:44

almost covered with briars and bushes.

23:47

After eight days

23:49

of evidence, the jury of five men and

23:52

seven women were discharged. They

23:54

had deliberated for two and a half hours before

23:57

finding Darren Goodwin guilty of murder

23:59

by a

24:00

majority of 11 to 1.

24:02

Patricia Conroy broke down in tears

24:04

as the verdict was read out.

24:07

Judge Barry White remanded Goodwin in

24:09

custody to St Patrick's Institution

24:11

to await sentencing.

24:14

Sorka Crowley, reporting for The Irish

24:16

Independent, wrote that the atmosphere

24:18

was emotionally charged as Mr

24:20

Justice White told the court that a mandatory

24:23

life sentence was normally handed down

24:25

for a guilty verdict in a murder case

24:27

but that there is an exception when

24:29

it comes to juveniles.

24:31

He said that he would have to take the teenager's age

24:34

into consideration, along with any

24:36

psychological or psychiatric factors.

24:39

Darren Goodwin showed no emotion as

24:42

the verdict was handed down.

24:44

His parents sat behind him grim-faced.

24:46

Goodwin had refused to speak

24:48

to them throughout the court proceedings, despite

24:51

their best attempts.

24:53

He had sat for the majority of the eight-day trial

24:55

with his arms outstretched across the back

24:57

of the bench, legs spread out

24:59

in front of him as his expression remained

25:01

impassive.

25:03

Even as his friends testified against

25:06

him and as the state pathologist

25:08

gave graphic evidence on how Darragh

25:10

Conroy died, Goodwin showed

25:13

no reaction or remorse.

25:16

In the aftermath of the trial, Judge

25:18

Barry White criticised what he said

25:20

was the cavalier attitude of Port

25:23

Liche Gardee as they questioned Darragh

25:25

and Goodwin.

25:26

It transpired that five of

25:28

the initial Garda interviews with Goodwin

25:30

were ruled inadmissible as evidence.

25:34

Goodwin had been arrested at 10 to 4 in

25:36

the morning and taken to Port Leish Garda

25:38

station, where he was questioned until

25:40

6.35am. He was then given

25:42

a brief rest period

25:44

before the questioning began again just after

25:47

half past eight.

25:48

Mr Justice White said that the treatment of

25:50

the boy in detention was inadequate

25:53

and that he was clearly fatigued and

25:55

that the admissions made were effectively cajoled

25:58

out of him.

25:59

He also said that the Garda in charge at Port

26:01

Leish Garda Station, who was responsible

26:04

for ensuring that prisoners' rights were not breached,

26:06

had quote, failed to comply

26:09

with his statutory obligations by

26:11

not informing Goodwin or his father

26:13

of the right to a solicitor.

26:16

The judge pointed out that the raised voices

26:18

and inappropriate comments made

26:21

to Goodwin during the fourth interview by

26:23

both detectives and the boy's father

26:25

were unacceptable.

26:27

He said quote, I'm satisfied that in

26:29

the course of that interview an endeavour was

26:31

made to break the will of the juvenile.

26:34

He also criticised Gurdi for holding

26:37

Goodwin in a cell when there were other

26:39

rooms available. Quote, ''Having

26:41

regard to the atmosphere in the fourth interview

26:44

and the demeanor of the juvenile in the fifth interview,

26:46

I am satisfied that the emanations

26:48

from him were not the emanations of

26:51

a free will, and I am satisfied that

26:53

they were not freely made.''

26:55

All of these factors meant that the videos

26:57

of the five interviews could not be shown to

27:00

the jury, which could have put the prosecution's

27:02

case in jeopardy.

27:13

On Tuesday, October 12, 2004, Patricia

27:17

Conroy returned to court to deliver

27:19

her victim impact statement.

27:21

She described her pain and anguish

27:24

since the brutal killing of her son.

27:26

Dara should have turned fifteen the day

27:28

before.

27:30

It should have been a happy day, she said, a day

27:32

of celebration. He loved his birthday,

27:34

loved the presents, the cards and the trips to

27:36

the cinema with his friends, but this

27:39

year she had instead visited his

27:41

grave and this would be the future of

27:43

all of his birthdays. Patricia

27:45

said she would always remember the Tuesday

27:47

night that Dara went missing and the rising

27:50

panic she had felt as she searched Mount

27:52

Melick for hours and tried repeatedly

27:54

to ring him.

27:55

She recalled her distress when she discovered

27:58

that he was dead and her devastation

28:00

that she could not see him or give him

28:02

one last hug.

28:03

Patricia said, quote, he lay in a cold

28:05

field all night until the afternoon of the next

28:08

day. I

28:08

couldn't hold him. Patricia

28:10

spoke of her terror at seeing

28:12

her only child in a coffin, wondering

28:15

if he had suffered or called out for her in

28:17

his final moments. Quote, he

28:19

was only 14. He shouldn't be dead.

28:21

He should be out having fun with his friends.

28:24

She'd been disgusted when she was told that Goodwin

28:27

had pleaded not guilty and, as a result,

28:29

she had to relive all the horrific details of

28:32

Dara's death across the eight days of evidence.

28:34

During that time, she had heard things that no

28:37

mother should hear.

28:38

Speaking of Goodwin's callous comments

28:40

to his friends that he had wanted to kill somebody

28:43

nobody would care about, Patricia asked,

28:45

quote, How could he say that about the boy

28:47

I carried for nine months? The

28:49

child I had lived for and adored

28:51

with every inch of my being.

28:54

Patricia felt that having to sit through

28:56

the trial was the same as Dara being killed

28:59

day after day. It,

29:01

she said, was all about proving

29:03

the innocence of the accused.

29:05

She felt as if she was invisible and Dara

29:07

didn't matter. There was nobody

29:09

to represent her son, nobody

29:11

to tell his side of the story. Dara

29:14

had no rights, his family had no

29:16

rights, and all the rights were for the

29:18

accused.

29:19

She went on to say that the lack of remorse

29:22

shown by Goodwin throughout the trial chilled

29:24

her to the bone, and

29:25

she asked how he could sit there without

29:27

a care in the world when he had killed her son.

29:30

Quote, The loss of an only child is

29:32

indescribable. It will never make sense.

29:35

What was the reason for Dara to be murdered

29:37

in such a vicious, unprovoked way?

29:40

That was never answered, and to me, that

29:42

is the most difficult thing to live with.

29:44

Patricia Conroy finished her statement

29:46

by saying that Dara was her best friend, and

29:49

because of Goodwin he would never have a career,

29:51

a girlfriend, or get married. She

29:53

would never see him smile again.

29:56

Following Patricia Conroy's emotional

29:58

statement, Olive Goodway

30:00

addressed the court.

30:02

She began by saying, quote, I'm

30:04

sorry for what has happened. It

30:06

is beyond my understanding totally.

30:09

If we could turn back the clock and make it different,

30:11

we would.

30:13

She painted a picture of Darren as a troubled

30:15

young man who had never shown any signs

30:17

of violence before, claiming that the

30:19

murder of Darren Conroy was an isolated

30:22

incident. She said that her family

30:24

was devastated. She insisted

30:26

that Goodwin was remorseful for what he had

30:28

done and said that although he refused to

30:30

speak to his parents or grandparents during

30:32

the trial, they were now rebuilding a good

30:34

relationship with each other.

30:37

Justice Barry White adjourned sentencing

30:39

until the end of the week to give him time to

30:41

consider a number of psychiatric and probation

30:44

reports on Goodwin.

30:46

However, he lifted the strict reporting

30:48

restrictions on the case, meaning Goodwin

30:50

could now be identified in the media.

30:54

The sentencing hearing took place the following

30:56

Friday, on October 15th of 2004.

31:00

In an unusually passionate sentencing

31:03

speech, Justice Barry White imposed

31:05

a life sentence on Goodwin, saying,

31:07

quote, "'You killed an innocent 14-year-old

31:10

in a premeditated, brutal, callous

31:12

murder. Not alone did you deprive

31:15

Dara Conroy of his life, at a time

31:17

when he had his entire future to look

31:19

forward to. devastated the life

31:21

of his mother who will grieve and mourn

31:24

to her dying day her only child.

31:27

Justice White went on to reproach Goodwin

31:29

for pleading not guilty and therefore

31:31

prolonging the suffering of Dara Conroy's

31:33

loved ones by putting them through the trauma

31:35

of a trial.

31:36

However, he said, by contesting

31:39

his innocence, Goodwin had also given

31:41

the judge the opportunity to observe his attitude

31:44

and demeanor. Quote,

31:45

To say the least, your attitude

31:47

was one of total indifference to what

31:49

was going on around you. Mr

31:52

Justice White added that Goodwin had shown

31:54

quote absolute scorn and contempt

31:57

for the trial in general.

31:59

visibly emotional at times, the judge

32:01

said that he had considered quote the viciousness

32:04

with which Goodwin beat to death an unarmed,

32:06

innocent young man without any form

32:08

of provocation or justification.

32:11

Justice White read from a report written

32:13

by a clinical psychologist, Andrew

32:15

Conway, who had conducted an assessment

32:18

on Darren Goodwin. The report

32:20

revealed that Goodwin had a deep-seated

32:22

hatred of his father, to whom he bore

32:24

huge resentment.

32:26

Conway observed that while discussing

32:28

the murder Goodwin stated that Dara Conroy

32:30

was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and

32:33

if Dara had not been there at that time, he

32:35

would have killed his father instead.

32:37

He said that he would have ended up in prison either

32:39

way. When

32:40

asked if he could flip a switch and swap his

32:42

father for Dara Conroy, Goodwin said

32:44

that he would. The

32:46

clinical psychologist wrote in his report

32:48

that Goodwin was a significant risk

32:51

to his father. The

32:53

judge told the teenager that he had ruined

32:55

his own life, brought disgrace

32:57

and shame on his family,

32:59

and that he was a danger to society.

33:02

In the course of the trial, he said, there was some

33:04

evidence to suggest that the attack on

33:06

Conroy may have been a trial run for

33:08

an attack on a member of Anguard de Chiaqana.

33:11

Although defence counsel Patrick Gageby,

33:14

Senior Counsel, had urged the court to accept

33:16

that Goodwin was remorseful, Mr.

33:18

Justice White rejected this, saying,

33:20

quote, I find it hard to believe that any

33:23

expression of remorse is real or

33:25

genuine. In sentencing

33:27

Goodwin, the judge said that one of his duties

33:30

was to take mitigating circumstances

33:32

into account, however in this case he

33:34

couldn't see any apart from Goodwin's

33:36

age.

33:37

He decreed that the life sentence should be

33:39

reviewed in ten years' time, which would

33:42

be 2014.

33:43

Mr Justice White expressed gratitude

33:46

to the young people of Mount Melick who came forward

33:48

with their accounts of Goodwin to help solve

33:50

the case.

33:51

Without them, he said, there would have been no

33:54

conviction. Concluding his speech,

33:56

the judge addressed Patricia Conroy

33:58

and in a voice filled with

34:00

with emotion, he said, quote,

34:01

I am not a man with a heart of stone. I too

34:04

have young children.

34:05

I know how I would feel in your situation

34:08

and I would like to express my sympathy to

34:10

you.

34:11

Goodwin stood with his head down during the

34:13

hearing, showing no emotion as his

34:15

sentence was handed down.

34:17

His parents sat side by side opposite

34:20

him, but there was no eye contact

34:22

between them and their son.

34:25

During the sentencing, Patricia Conroy gave

34:28

an interview on RTE Radio. She

34:30

explained that she had since moved out of her

34:32

home in Mount Melick, unable to cope

34:34

with the stares from strangers and the constant

34:37

reminders of her son.

34:38

She recalled Dara's huge smile and

34:41

his love of fun. Speaking

34:43

of Darren Goodwin, she described watching

34:45

him in court and seeing absolutely no

34:48

reaction from him.

34:49

She said, quote, it was like he was only looking

34:52

at a film,

34:53

adding that he appeared quote, so cold,

34:55

with his arms stretched out across the bench.

34:58

There

34:59

was much talk in the media that week about

35:01

increasing violence in Irish society.

35:04

As Darragh Goodwin began his life sentence,

35:06

another team, named Christopher Dunn, was

35:08

awaiting sentence for stabbing a 17-year-old

35:11

to death.

35:12

The two crimes bore striking similarities.

35:15

Like Goodwin, Dunn had been just 15

35:17

when he committed murder, and in both

35:20

cases the perpetrators stole the

35:22

mobile phones of their victims in the aftermath

35:24

of the killing. Parallels were also

35:26

drawn given the senseless violence

35:29

of both murders, which was completely

35:31

out of proportion to the motive of

35:33

mobile phone robbery.

35:36

In February of 2005, Goodwin

35:39

appealed the severity of his sentence.

35:41

His lawyers told the three-judge court

35:44

of criminal appeal that the trial judge

35:46

should have imposed a determined fixed sentence

35:49

rather than a life sentence.

35:51

Patrick Gageby, Senior Council, said

35:53

it would give Goodwin quote, light at

35:55

the end of the tunnel and a period during

35:57

which he could work towards becoming a useful member of the

35:59

United States.

36:00

of society.

36:02

The following month, the appeal was refused.

36:04

The three judge panels said that given the callous

36:07

and unprovoked nature of the murder, along

36:09

with the disposition of Goodwin at the time of

36:12

sentencing, the trial judge was correct

36:14

in imposing a life sentence subject

36:16

to review in 2014. This,

36:19

they said, would allow the court to review

36:21

the length of the sentence in relation to matters

36:23

such as rehabilitation efforts. On 11 September 2014,

36:26

the sentence review went ahead.

36:32

Despite the director of public prosecution

36:34

asking for an adjournment to acquire

36:36

more reports.

36:38

Dressed in a black jacket and blue jeans,

36:40

Goodwin entered the witness box before

36:43

Mr Justice Barry White to enter a

36:45

bond of good behaviour and pledge

36:47

to fulfil other conditions upon his

36:49

release.

36:51

His father, David Horan, testified

36:53

that he had moved his family to another town

36:56

so that the Conroy family would not have to

36:58

encounter Darren if he was released to

37:00

live with them.

37:01

He said that he had rented a house with a separate

37:03

apartment where his son could live independently,

37:06

and that his boss had agreed to offer

37:08

Goodwin an apprenticeship upon release.

37:12

Mr Horan also said that he was

37:14

concerned that his son wasn't receiving

37:16

the psychological support and services

37:18

that he needed, and that he had raised this

37:21

with the prison authorities in the past but

37:23

had gotten nowhere.

37:25

The court heard from clinical psychologist

37:28

Dr. Kevin Lamb, who testified

37:30

that the assessment of Goodwin was challenging,

37:33

as he had committed the crimes as a juvenile

37:35

before his mind had fully developed.

37:37

Although the risk for future violence was low,

37:40

his opinion was that Goodwin needed forensic

37:42

psychotherapy twice a week for

37:44

at least two years in order to

37:46

ensure that he had the best chance of rehabilitation.

37:50

Mr Justice Barry White set a release

37:52

date of July 1st, 2016, but imposed the caveat

37:55

that Goodwin must

37:57

receive the services of a psychotherapist.

38:00

twice a week in prison, saying

38:02

that he was not satisfied that the issue of

38:04

remorse had been fully addressed.

38:06

As per Justice White's ruling, Darren

38:09

Goodwin was released on the 30th

38:11

of June 2016. He had served 12 and a half

38:13

years for the premeditated

38:15

murder of Darragh Conroy and was 28

38:18

years old. Patricia Conroy

38:21

objected to his discharge from prison,

38:23

saying he should not have been freed as as

38:25

he was still a danger to society. According

38:28

to her, Goodwin still hadn't shown remorse

38:31

and she claimed that he failed to complete the course

38:33

of forensic psychotherapy which was directed

38:35

by the court as a condition of his release.

38:38

Patricia told Connor Feihan of the evening

38:40

herald that she had written to the prison service

38:43

to voice her concerns over Goodwin's impending

38:45

release and to ask why the psychology

38:48

services weren't present at the sentence

38:50

review hearing in 2014.

38:52

She received a reply from the Director

38:55

of Care and Rehabilitation of the Prison

38:57

Service who stated that no specific

38:59

request was received from the court for

39:01

a member of the Psychology Service to be

39:03

there.

39:04

However, he wrote, quote, it certainly

39:06

would have been prudent for a member of the Psychology

39:09

Service to be present in court.

39:12

Following this, Patricia received a letter from the

39:14

offices of the Tanneschte and Justice

39:17

Minister Francis Fitzgerald, assuring

39:19

her that quote, all professionals engaged

39:22

in this case have undertaken appropriate interventions

39:24

with Mr. Goodwin.

39:26

The letter added that a multi-agency

39:28

post-release program was in place to

39:30

facilitate Goodwin's safe reintegration

39:33

into the community.

39:35

In May of 2017, Goodwin

39:38

was back before the courts, where he

39:40

was directed not to go within an eight-kilometre

39:43

zone of Mount Melick Town, unless

39:45

he was given verbal permission by the probation

39:47

services. Goodwin's barrister

39:50

told the court that his parents lived near

39:52

Mount Melick, and so he may wish to visit

39:54

their home on occasion.

39:56

Patricia Conroy was in court to hear

39:59

the ruling. She had long since moved

40:01

from Mount Melick, but she still visited the

40:03

town three or four times a week.

40:05

She said quote, Since Darren Goodwin

40:07

got out last year, I have been afraid I would

40:09

meet him on the street. It would be in the back

40:11

of your mind. Relatives of mine have seen

40:14

him.

40:15

Patricia said that at least now she would

40:17

be able to relax and not be nervous that she might

40:19

bump into him.

40:21

On the 3rd of August, 2022,

40:24

just six years after his early release

40:26

from prison, Darren Goodwin passed

40:28

away unexpectedly. He was 34 years

40:31

old.

40:32

Patricia Conroy said that not a day

40:34

goes by that she doesn't think about Dara

40:37

or cry over him.

40:38

She said, quote, I adored Dara.

40:41

I still dream about him. I wonder what

40:43

he would be like. I see his friends

40:45

in relationships and getting jobs.

40:47

I still buy him presents, little things

40:50

at his birthdays and Christmas, and I leave

40:52

them on his grave. That's the only way I can

40:54

give them to him. Nothing could hurt

40:56

me as much as losing Dara. He was funny

40:58

and smart.

40:59

I'm glad I'm Dara's mother, and not

41:02

Dara Goodwins."

41:05

Thank you for listening to Men's Raya, a true crime

41:07

podcast. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter

41:10

and Instagram, Ash, Men's Rayapod, or

41:12

you can send an email to mensrayapod

41:14

at gmail.com. This podcast

41:17

is made possible in part from generous

41:19

donations by supporters on Patreon. Special

41:22

thanks this week to Jean, Robbie Thomas,

41:24

Fiona Fielding, Sarah Buckley, and

41:26

Darren Riley.

41:27

Please do check it out at patreon.com

41:30

forward slash men's ryapod. Our

41:32

theme music is Quinn Song, The Dance

41:34

Begins by Kevin MacLeod. Additional

41:37

music is by Juanita Meisel and Kevin

41:39

MacLeod. This week's episode was

41:41

researched and written by the amazing Aileen

41:43

Spiren. Additional writing and production

41:46

was by me, your host Sinead.

41:48

All sources for today's episode can be found

41:50

in the show notes or on our website www.mencerapod.com.

41:56

And so, till next time,

41:58

don't do anything I wouldn't do. is again