Diarmuid Phelan has been found not guilty of murder. 

The barrister and law professor went on trial late last year, accused of murdering Keith Conlon on his farm in February 2022.

The jury began its deliberations on New Year's Eve and after just over seven hours considering the evidence, Diarmuid Phelan was today acquitted of Keith Conlon’s murder.

🚨BREAKING 🚨

Diarmuid Phelan, a barrister and Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin, has been found NOT GUILTY of murdering Keith Conlon on his farm in Feb 2022.

— Frank Greaney (@FrankGreaney) January 3, 2025

Mr Conlon and two others were trespassers on Mr Phelan’s farm in Tallaght on February 22nd, 2022.

They were engaged in illegal hunting and fearing for his livestock, Mr Phelan shot dead one of their dogs with a rifle.

That led to a heated row which resulted in him firing three warning shots with a handgun.

A Garda car on Phelan’s Dublin farm in 2022. Picture by: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

The third shot hit Mr Conlon in the back of the head; it was the prosecution’s case that he intended to kill, or at least cause serious harm, when he fired the final shot.

Mr Phelan claimed it was unintentional and that he was acting in self-defence.

After being acquitted by unanimous verdict, the judge then turned to Mr Phelan and told him he was “free to go.”

Main image: Diarmuid Phelan and the Criminal Courts of Justice.