Man found guilty of Kieran Quilligan murder

A man has been found guilty of the murder of 47-year-old Kieran Quilligan, whose skeletal remains were found in a carrier bag in a County Cork ravine.

Mr Quilligan was last seen alive on 1 September 2023. He had been missing for five months when his remains were found by gardaí (Irish police).

Niall Long, 33, of St Michael’s Close in the Mahon area of Cork city, was convicted at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork on Thursday.

The jury will resume deliberations on his co-accused, 27-year-old Luke Taylor, previously of Cherry Lawn, Cork, on Friday. Mr Taylor denies murder.

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

He added that but for the incredible investigative work by gardaí (Irish police) the remains would never have been found.

The court had earlier been told that an exact cause of death for Mr Quilligan could not be established because of the decomposition of the remains.

However, a pathologist told the court that injuries, including fractures to the ribs, chest, neck and skull, were consistent with a “severe assault”.