Man found guilty of murder of Kieran Quiligan in Co Cork

Olivia Kelleher

A man has been found guilty of the murder of a 47-year-old man whose skeletal remains were found in a jute bag at a ravine in Whitewell, Rostellan, Co Cork on January 29th, 2024.

The jury of 10 men and two women spent just under five hours deliberating at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork before finding Niall Long (33) guilty of the murder of Kieran Quilligan.

They will resume their deliberations in relation to his co-accused Luke Taylor (27) on Friday morning.

The two accused went on trial earlier this month charged with the murder of Mr Quilligan who was last seen alive on September 1st, 2023.

He had been missing for five months when his remains were detected by gardaí who had brought a cadaver dog to scrubland in East Cork.

In his closing speech to the jury Prosecution senior counsel, Donal O’Sullivan said that Kieran Quilligan was “lured” to his death.

He stated that Mr Taylor brought him to a laneway at St Finbarr’s Place in Cork city on September 1st 2023 where he and Mr Long “ambushed” him.

Mr O’Sullivan said that the men then threw Kieran Quilligan in to the boot of a car.

He said that the “instigating factor” in relation to what occurred involved Kieran Quilligan stealing drugs from Niall Long earlier that day.

“Following a robbery by Kieran Quilligan on Niall Long Luke Taylor lures Kieran Quilligan to a lane. He is ambushed by the two of them. He is put in the boot of the car.

`They go straight to Little Island (in Co Cork) to a laneway. Down the laneway to a farm. They go down to a nice quiet spot. They are heading home twenty minutes later. What is going on?

When the skeletal remains are found there are 19 broken bones, some showing use of an implement like a hammer. Luke Taylor lured Kieran Quilligan to his death. They ambushed him. He was disposed of down that lane.”

Mr O’Sullivan said that the body was removed from Little Island three days later and dumped in East Cork. He added that, but for the incredible investigative work by gardaí the remains would never have been found.

The jury also heard evidence from Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, who carried out a postmortem on the remains of Mr Quilligan at Cork University Hospital.

Dr Bolster indicated that an exact cause of death could not be established because decomposition had led to the loss of organs.

However, she stated that what was not in doubt was that the injuries suffered by Mr Quilligan were consistent with a “severe assault in a laneway.” Those injuries included fractures to his ribs, chest, leg and hand bones, jaw bones, neck, and skull.

Dr Bolster said that whilst the remains were skeletonised, there was a small piece of skin remaining which consisted of a tattoo with the word “Mother” and a date. An inscription was illegible.

The skull was separate from the body and there was a large amount of silt and vegetation.

Dr Bolster also described her examination of the body at the scene. She described going down a ravine off a roadway where there was a jute bag. Underneath this was another jute bag with a “pelvic bone protruding.”

Dr Bolster said she could see ribs and a skull with a “bag around it tied with a knot.”

Dr Bolster indicated that the cable tie around the left ankle and right shin and two knotted pieces of plastic around the neck were likely to have been used for the purposes of moving the body.

The jury also heard evidence from Sgt Maurice O’Connor who was responsible for analysing mobile phones seized during the course of the investigation.

Sgt O’Connor gave evidence to the effect that Niall Long had sent a text message to his mother Janice Long on September 2nd, 2023.

She has texted him saying that her jeep smelled of Dettol.

Sgt O’Connor said that Mr Long texted his mother. In his reply he stated that the boot of the car was cleaned because “the fella that robbed me got a hiding and was thrown in the boot after.”

The jury heard evidence from forty seven witnesses.

Prosecution counsel Donal O’Sullivan noted that the jury had watched a “staggering amount” of CCTV footage. Over the course of three days of the trial, they watched 433 video clips.

The charge facing both accused was that the murder was carried out on a date unknown between September 1st, 2023, and January 29th, 2024, at an unknown location within the state of the District Court area of Cork city.

Niall Long is formerly of St Michael’s Close in Mahon in Cork, whilst Luke Taylor is previously of Cherry Lawn in Blackrock in Cork city.