An Irish farmer has been found guilty of murdering his ex-lover’s boyfriend and dumping his body an underground tank.
Patrick Quirke, a 50-year-old farmer from County Tipperary was handed the mandatory life sentence for killing his love rival Bobby Ryan in 2011 in one of the longest murder trials in the history of Ireland.
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Mary Lowry, the woman at the center of a love triangle involving the accused and Bobby Ryan, had an affair with Quirke shortly after her husband died in 2007, and was in a relationship with Ryan when he went missing in June 2011.
Bobby Ryan, his body was found in an underground tank in April 2013, he had been missing since June 2011.
The jury had heard that Quirke, a married father of three, wanted her back and Ryan, a local DJ also known as "Mr. Moonlight," stood in his way.
After killing the local DJ - Quirke dumped his body in an underground tank on his ex-lover's farm.
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Quirke found Ryan’s body on Lowry’s land in April 2013 and the prosecution argued he murdered Ryan and dumped his body there.
He then staged the discovery in an attempt to take control of the situation before someone else found it.
Mary Lowry leaving the Central Criminal Court Dublin (CCJ) in Dublin for the trial of Bobby Ryan AKA Mr Moonlight. Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
Lowry was the prosecutions most significant witness but the defense labeled her as “dangerous and unreliable.”
The jurors heard that Quirke had motive and opportunity and all of the evidence against him was circumstantial but in the end, the jurors felt it was enough to convict.
Quirke first took his seat in the dock over three months ago and after just over 20.5 hours across seven days of deliberations, was found guilty of murder by a majority verdict 10 to 12 reports Newstalk.
Patrick Quirke with his wife Imelda arriving at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) in Dublin. Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie 
In her Victim Impact Statement, Ryan's daughter Michelle addressed her father directly. She said: "Dad – I described you as Wow and that's what you are, such a wonderful and caring father and we'll carry you in our hearts every day for the rest of our lives. Until we meet again Moonlight".
Ryan's adult children, Michelle, and Robert Junior, embraced and cried in plain view of the man in the dock,
Bobby Ryan children Robert and Michelle talking to the media outside the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) in Dublin. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie
Speaking outside the court, Bobby Ryan's daughter Michelle welcomed the jury's decision.
"We got justice for daddy today - it will never bring him back, but we hope now that he is at rest."
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