Teenager found guilty of manslaughter after death of 29-year-old man in Cork

A 19-year-old man has been found not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of a 29-year-old man at an estate in Carrigaline, Co Cork in December of 2022.

Jordan Deasy of Ravensdale, Heron’s Wood in Carrigaline, went on trial at a Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork earlier this month charged with the murder of Matt O’Neill at Glenwood Estate, Carrigaline, Co Cork on December 28, 2022.

The jury of six women and six men deliberated for 14 hours and 47 minutes before they returned with their verdict today.

READ MORE - Man killed in brutal Christmas assault died after being punched and kicked in the head, murder trial hears

They are continuing to deliberate in relation to the case against his co-accused Ricardo Hoey (21) of Ardcarrig, Carrigaline, Co Cork who is also charged with the murder of Mr O’Neill.

The trial heard that Mr O’Neill was taken to Cork University Hospital with injuries following an incident in Carrigaline on December 28, 2022. He went in to a coma and passed away in hospital on 8 January, 2023. His liver and kidneys were harvested for donation.

The trial, which was presided over by Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford, heard evidence on the cause of death from Dr Margaret Bolster who carried out a post-mortem on Mr O’Neill on 9 January, 2023.

Dr Bolster said that she was informed that Matt O’Neill had been treated at the scene on December 28, 2022 by a passing orthopaedic consultant following an alleged assault.

He was removed to Cork University Hospital, where he underwent surgery. However, he was placed on life support and never recovered consciousness.

Matt O'Neill
(Image: Garda Press Office)

Dr Bolster said that Mr O’Neill was diagnosed with a devastating brain injury on 7 January, 2023 from which there was no possibility of recovery.

Dr Bolster said that she had been told as background information that Mr O’Neill had been walked along a footpath in Glenwood on December 28, 2022 when a car stopped alongside him and the driver and front seat passenger got out.

“A verbal altercation escalated to a physical altercation and Mr O’Neill fell backwards. He was kicked in the head.”

Dr Bolster said that the postmortem examination revealed that Mr O’Neill sustained blunt force trauma to the head as a results of blows and a fall. He also had a traumatic axonal brain injury.

Dr Bolster discounted suggestions from the defence that an earlier assault on Mr O’Neill on December 24 involving youths could have left him vulnerable to death. She said that Mr O’Neill walked around for four days after the first incident and showed no sign of illness or distress.

“He was still conscious. He was acting as normal. A subdural haemorrhage normally manifests in 24 hours. He was walking around four days later. The second assault resulted in his death.”

Matt O’Neill was born in Brisbane in Australia but moved back to Ireland with his parents Pat and Eileen as a young child. His father Pat told his funeral mass in Curraheen in Cork in January of last year that Matt was “the body and soul” of his family who have been left absolutely heartbroken by his death.

Fr James McSweeney said that Matt O’Neill was “precious, special and unique.” Matt was an only child. His family requested that mourners at his funeral make a donation to Cork University Hospital in his memory in lieu of flowers.