A man has been found guilty of murdering a retired farmer in what the prosecution described as a “vicious attack on a defenceless old man”.

28-year-old Ross Outram of Ferryland, Waterford Road, Clonmel, Co Tipperary claimed he was acting in self-defence when he beat the 90-year-old pensioner.

In February 2017, Paddy Lyons was found slumped in his armchair at his home in Ballysaggart, Lismore in Co Waterford.

He died from block blunt force trauma to his body along with a traumatic brain injury and shock due to fractures of his hip joint, jawbone and ribs.

He suffered multiple blows to the head and neck from a blunt weapon.

Outram told gardaí he took 100 Xanax tablets that day and claimed he had to fight back when he was attacked with a walking stick and a shovel.

The prosecution claimed it was over money – that the then 26-year-old knew Mr Lyons had some and that he was going to get it.

His defence barrister questioned whether the blows delivered by his client actually caused death.

The prosecution, meanwhile, summed up what Ross Outram did to Paddy Lyons as a "vicious and sustained attack".

The jurors were invited to consider manslaughter and assault causing harm as potential verdicts.

After deliberating for three and a half hours, they convicted him of murder this afternoon.