At the Central Criminal Court, prosecutors have submitted that forensic evidence in a cold case murder trial points inescapably to the guilt of the accused. Senior counsel Brendan Grehan closed the State's case against Noel Long, aged 74, of Maulbawn, Passage West, County Cork, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Nora Sheehan between 6 and 12 June 1981. Ms Sheehan's body was discovered at Shippool Woods, Cork, six days after she went missing. Mr Grehan told the jury that fibres from the victim's clothing and paint fragments matched those from the accused's Opel Kadett motor vehicle. A DNA profile recovered from semen found on the deceased matched that from a beanie hat belonging to Mr Long, with odds of one in 23,000 against it being unrelated. Defence counsel Michael Delaney SC argued the 42-year delay was unprecedented and that critical exhibits had been lost, preventing independent verification of the prosecution's forensic findings. The jury's verdict is now pending.
Source links
Original report plus public source leads and related archive reports used for review context.
Public source leads
- Cork woman Nora Sheehan died at hands of murder accused Noel Long, prosecution barrister tells jury - Irish Examiner Irish Examiner · Wed, 02 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT
Related court reports
-
Brother concerned that Sliabh Liag accused was off medication and drinking, trial hears
Courts News Ireland · 2025-02-06
At the Central Criminal Court, a witness told how he harboured growing concerns about his sister's wellbeing in the period preceding an alleged murder in Donegal. The...
-
Woman (23) a ‘bystander’ in Sliabh Liag murder, defence tell jury
Courts News Ireland · 2025-02-26
At the Central Criminal Court, closing arguments concluded in the trial of two people charged with the murder of Robert Robin Wilkin near Sliabh Liag in County Donegal...
-
Mary Lowry's evidence "devious poison", defence tell Moonlight jury
Courts News Ireland · 2019-04-15
At the Central Criminal Court, defence counsel Bernard Condon SC characterised Mary Lowry's evidence as fundamentally unreliable during closing arguments in the trial...
-
Graham Dwyer's relationship with Elaine O'Hara was an entirely predatory one, jury told
Courts News Ireland · 2015-03-19
At the Central Criminal Court on 19 March 2015, the prosecution closing address in the murder trial of Graham Dwyer outlined its case against the 42-year-old architect....
-
Man pleads not guilty to murdering grandfather in Donegal Gaeltacht
Courts News Ireland · 2026-03-23
A 39-year-old man from Carrickcoyle, Derrybeg in County Donegal has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of his grandfather, Derek Burns, aged 78, who...