Convicted murderer Derek McNamara has died just weeks after being granted temporary release from his life sentence due to illness. McNamara was sentenced to life in 2006 for the 2004 murder of Martin O’Donoghue, who died after being stabbed outside a bar in Limerick city. He had 22 previous convictions and was described by the gardaí as a central figure in Limerick’s criminal underworld. Though he did not carry out the physical stabbing, McNamara was found guilty of the murder. In her victim-impact statement, O’Donoghue’s sister said her family’s lives had been torn apart.
