Teen “caught red-handed” in connection with fatal Kildare Town assault
Image for illustration purposes
A MAN who was arrested on the suspicion of murder of Ryan Weir Gibbons was denied bail on grounds relating to the seriousness of the charges against him.
Ryan Murphy (18), with an address at 26 Curragh Plains, Kildare Town, came before a special sitting of Naas District Court this morning seeking bail with strict conditions.
Detective Sgt Patrick Dunne gave evidence before the court in denial of the accused’s bail submission, and told the court how Mr Murphy was "caught red-handed" through CCTV footage.
It is alleged that on November 26, 2025 the injured party and the accused were on the same bus going from Newbridge to Kildare Town in the early hours of the morning after a night of socialising.
The court was told that Mr Murphy and his friends were loud and “boisterous” on the bus, when Mr Weir told them to be quiet. It is understood that “minor grappling” occurred between the two parties before they were separated by friends.
After this minor incident, both parties got off the bus at different locations. It is alleged that Mr Weir was on his own at this time.
The court was told that at approximately 3.07am Mr Murphy and Mr Weir were seen together again through CCTV footage. It was also seen that Mr Murphy threw punches at Mr Weir which “put him on the ground” and caused very serious injuries, which led to his eventual death on October 30.
It was heard in court that the accused threw a punch “in self defence,” however, gardaí do not accept this as fact.
“That is his assertion,” said Sgt Dunne. “Mr Murphy asserts it was self defence, but the injured party didn’t get involved in any physical altercation.”
“There were punches from Mr Murphy alone. He [Mr Weir] didn’t have time to defend himself.”
After the incident, the accused went to Kildare Town Garda Station and voluntarily admitted to being solely responsible for the crime on three separate occasions.
Three other witnesses, friends of the accused, gave witness statements to support his claims.
On November 3, Mr Murphy was arrested by Kildare gardaí on the suspicion of murder. If convicted, the accused is looking at a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.
The court heard that the accused was attending Carlow College for a sports-related course after passing his Leaving Certificate.
Defence solicitor, David Powderly, spoke to the court in support of the bail submission, and said that the man has no previous convictions, had not interfered with witnesses during the course of the investigation, is not a flight risk and was “completely blameless” up until this incident.
“He comes from a stable home, a stable environment. He is a man of impeccable record,” said Mr Powderly.
Mr Powderly further explained that the accused’s father, James Murphy, had “signed up for surety” with a donation to the court of €10,000 to ensure that his son would abide by a set of very strict bail conditions, if the court found it viable to grant it.
“He is entitled to the presumption of innocence. There are very strict bail conditions and those conditions should meet any concerns by gardaí,” said Mr Powderly.
The defending solicitor outlined that bail conditions would involve Mr Murphy signing on daily at his local garda station, abide by a strict curfew, hand over his passport and not interfere with witnesses.
Judge Zaidan extended his sympathies to Mr Weir’s family who were in attendance during the sitting.
After hearing the evidence before him and “applying common sense to the allegations” before him, Judge Zaidan decided to refuse the defence’s application for bail.
Upon his decision, it was agreed that Mr Ryan Murphy was to appear before Naas District Court once again on Wednesday, November 26 via video link for DPP directions.
