Patrick Quirke has lost an appeal against his conviction for the murder of Bobby Ryan, a court in Dublin has ruled.
Judges in the Court of Appeal said they considered each of the 52 grounds of appeal but were not prepared to uphold any of them.
Quirke, of Breanshamore in Co Tipperary, was convicted in 2019 of the murder of Bobby Ryan in Tipperary.
Following a trial that lasted 71 days, a jury found, by a 10 to two majority, that Quirke murdered his love rival Mr Ryan.
We have read has caused us to have doubts as to the safety of the verdict or the fairness of the trialMr Justice George Birmingham
Mr Ryan’s remains were found in a disused underground tank on a farm two years after he went missing in June 2011.
Quirke, who had denied the murder, is serving a life sentence.
Mr Justice George Birmingham dismissed the appeal in a judgment that ran to over 100 pages.
“We’ve asked ourselves whether anything that we’ve heard during the course of the appeal hearing, or anything that we have read has caused us to have doubts as to the safety of the verdict or the fairness of the trial and we’ve concluded that that is not the case,” Mr Justice Birmingham said.
“We therefore have to dismiss the appeal against the conviction.”
We acknowledged that the case was not a straightforward one and indeed could be said with some truth that it was quite finely balancedMr Justice George Birmingham
Mr Justice Birmingham told that court that the case was “not a straightforward one”.
He added: “After careful consideration, we have concluded that the multiple strands were as such that a properly directed jury could conclude that the various strands taken in conjunction, formed a very sturdy rope, such as this was a case where a verdict of guilty could properly and safely be charged.
“We acknowledged that the case was not a straightforward one and indeed could be said with some truth that it was quite finely balanced, but after careful consideration we are firmly of the view that it was a case which was properly left to the jury.”