Knife murderer locked up for 26 years 'seriously ill after prison collapse'

The Irish Mirror has confirmed that Gerald Dunne was found unconscious in his cell

By: irishmirror.ie

Jan 06 2025
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Knife murderer locked up for 2

This convicted murderer is critically ill in hospital – after he collapsed in his cell during the Christmas period.

The Irish Mirror has confirmed that Gerald Dunne, who has been locked up for almost 26 years, was found unconscious in his cell at west Dublin’s Wheatfield Prison on December 28. Sources say the reason for his collapse is unclear – but it left him fighting for his life for several days.

A Prison Service spokesman declined to comment. He said: “The Irish Prison Service does not comment on individual prisoner cases.”

There were real fears that Dunne, 49, would die, but the lifer's condition in a Dublin hospital has improved in recent days. But sources said Dunne, with a previous address at Rafter's Avenue, Drimnagh, Dublin, was still critically ill. “It was not looking good for him for a while, but he has improved a bit in recent days,” a source told us.

Dunne, who is also known as Gerard, has been locked up since the end of January 1999 – after he was charged with murdering a man in his native Dublin. He went through three trials over the murder of Liam Thompson, 20, in Dolphin’s Barn in south inner city Dublin on January 26, 1999.

He was first convicted of Mr Thompson’s murder in 2001, but that was quashed on appeal.

The killer is seriously ill in a Dublin hospital. (Image: Collins)

A second trial collapsed, but he was finally convicted again of Mr Thompson’s murder after a fresh trial in May 2004. He stabbed Mr Thompson to death during a row that started over the use of a call box. Dunne had denied the murder. His eight day trial heard that Mr Thompson's grandfather had been buried on the day of the murder.

After the funeral, relatives went for a drink in the Rialto House pub off the South Circular Road.
One left the pub later that night to get a taxi home and it was alleged in court that he got into a fight with Dunne at the call box.

The relative told the trial that Dunne threatened to give him the virus – HIV – during the fight. Mr Thompson and two other men then ran to help the relative and the fight broke up. But Dunne and two other men went after the relative and Mr Thompson – who was stabbed with a knife.

Inside Wheatfield Prison, where Dunne is serving his life sentence.

Then State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy told the Central Criminal Court trial of Dunne that Mr Thompson suffered a fatal wound to his heart, as well as injuries to his abdomen and abrasions to the head and neck.

She said: "There was a stab wound in front of the heart, it went through the front wall and through the right ventricle and into the cavity of the heart."

Dr Cassidy said Mr Thompson "bled from the injury to the sack surrounding his heart leading to his collapse and death" Dunne has spent most of his time in jail at Wheatfield Prison.

In 2019, he hit the headlines after he failed in a High Court bid to challenge his jail disciplinary process. In a search of his Wheatfield Prison cell in November 2017, officers found an improvised knife wrapped in tissue paper under his mattress.

They also found an almost full bag of razor blades on a shelf in the cell. Dunne claimed the items had been planted as others had access to his open cell while he was doing prison work.

He also claimed he did not use the shelf on which the blades were found as he could not reach it - but prison authorities said it was 4ft high. He was found responsible for the items and sanctioned by prison bosses – but he appealed that decision

That appeal was rejected by the High Court.

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