A man who left his neighbour paralysed after shooting her in her living room while her daughter hid under the kitchen table has been jailed for fifteen years.

Dean McCarthy, of Bernard Curtis House, Bluebell Road, Dublin 12, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Sinead Connolly.

The shooting happened on March 6th last year, but the judge noted a “simmering undercurrent of threats and bullying” in the months leading up to it.

Relations between Dean McCarthy and Sinead Connolly were very poor.

On one occasion, he grabbed his next-door neighbour by the throat and spat in her face. He also threatened to put her in a body bag.

At her request, the court heard a number of men called to his flat because she was in fear of him.

He didn’t answer but shortly afterwards, someone brought a loaded gun to him, which he used to shoot Ms Connolly with after bursting into her home.

The 34-year-old was left with catastrophic, irreversible spinal injuries.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott described the extreme nature of the violence deployed as “shocking.” He also remarked on the ease with which McCarthy managed to get his hands on a gun.

He sentenced him to 16 years for attempted murder but suspended the final 12 months.