McGinley fails in second bid to overturn conviction for murder of Eugene Gillespie

Simon McGinley has failed in his second attempt to overturn his murder conviction at the Court of Appeal. McGinley, aged 38, was convicted in April 2014 of murdering Eugene Gillespie, a retired telecoms broker, at a house on Old Market Street in Sligo on 19 September 2012. Mr Gillespie, aged 67, died in hospital following a cardiac arrest after being assaulted and tied up in his home. McGinley had originally pleaded not guilty to murder and admitted manslaughter instead, but this plea was rejected by the State. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. At the appeal hearing, McGinley's legal team argued he was displaying symptoms of schizophrenia at the time of the attack and that this constituted a miscarriage of justice. Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh dismissed the appeal, finding that neither insanity nor diminished responsibility had been raised at trial and that retrospective psychiatric assessment fell short of the required threshold.