Global InformationGrangegorman killings information
 The house at No.1 Orchard View, Grangegorman | |
| Date | 6 March 1997 |
|---|---|
| Location | No.1 Orchard View, Grangegorman, Dublin, Ireland |
| Also known as | Grangegorman murders |
| Deaths | Sylvia Sheils and Mary Callinan |
| Suspects | Dean Lyons, Mark Nash |
| Charges | Mark Nash |
| Convictions | Mark Nash |
The Grangegorman killings were the homicide on 6 March 1997 of Sylvia Sheils and Mary Callinan, patients at St. Brendan's Psychiatric Hospital in Grangegorman, Dublin, Ireland.[1] After giving a false confession, Dean Lyons was charged with the murders and placed on remand.[2] In his statement to the Garda Síochána (police), Lyons gave details that would only be known to the murderer or to the investigators.[3][4] After Lyons was charged, Mark Nash confessed to the killings, but later retracted his confession.[5] In April 2015, Nash's trial for the murder of Sheils and Callinan began[6] after an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the trial from going forward.[7]
Lyons was described by one of the gardaí (policemen) involved in the case as a "Walter Mitty" character,[8] and Charles Smith, psychiatrist and director of the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, felt that he might be prone to exaggeration and attention seeking.[9] He spent nine months in jail for a crime that he did not commit, and was released after the charge of murder against him was dropped on 29 April 1998.[10][11] A commission of investigation was set up to investigate the conduct of the Garda in the case. Dean Lyons died from a heroin overdose in 2000.[12]
- ^ O'Brien, Paul (2 May 2005), "New unsolved murder evidence by July", Irish Examiner, archived from the original on 3 December 2007, retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ Commission Report 2006, pp.11, 21–22
- ^ "Lyons family in calls over inquiry". RTÉ News. 11 August 2006. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
- ^ Commission Report 2006, pp.129–132
- ^ Commission Report 2006, pp.22–24
- ^ Edwards, Elaine (17 April 2015). "Mark Nash trial: Jury resumes deliberations on murder charges". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ^ "Nash claims he cannot get fair trial for Grangegorman double murder", The Irish Times, 25 March 2010, archived from the original on 21 October 2012, retrieved 4 June 2010
- ^ Commission Report 2006, p.127
- ^ Commission Report 2006, p.149
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
rtewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Commission Report 2006, pp.7, 162
- ^ Kennedy, Edel (11 August 2006), "Mother of Dean Lyons is 'sick' over report findings", Irish Independent, archived from the original on 24 October 2012, retrieved 4 June 2010