EXCLUSIVE | 

Girlfriend of innocent man murdered in Tallaght shooting faces proceeds of crime charges

Woman’s boyfriend shot dead on his doorstep by hooded man

Today at 15:15

A woman whose innocent boyfriend was shot dead has appeared in court charged with possessing cash and a watch alleged to be the proceeds of crime.

Sharon Rattigan, with an address in Walkinstown, Dublin, appeared before Dublin Circuit Court on Friday last week where she faced two charges contrary to Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010.

The 41-year-old is charged with possessing €7,380 in cash while being reckless as to whether the money was the proceeds of criminal conduct.

She faces a further charge of possessing a Breitling Chronograph designer watch while being reckless as to whether or not it was the proceeds of criminal conduct.

Both offences are alleged to have occurred at her home in Walkinstown on May 12, 2020.

At a previous sitting, she had been served with a book of evidence in the case and issued with an alibi warning.

She had also been granted legal aid.

Her case was listed for trial on October 7, 2025.

Sharon Rattigan’s boyfriend Seamus ‘Shay’ O’Byrne was shot dead on March 13, 2009 at Tymon North Park in Tallaght.

She later told the trial of Garrett O’Brien how a hooded man walked up to the driveway of their Tallaght home and pointed a gun at O’Byrne and shot him five times.

She said she and her boyfriend of 11 years, Mr O’Byrne, were due to head out to meet friends in a pub that evening.

She said she was placing her 18-month-old son in the back of their black Saab car, parked on the roadside of their house in Tallaght, to bring the child to a babysitter when she noticed a man walking towards the car.

“He turned around towards Shay who was closing the front door of the house and started shooting at him.

“I saw the gun in his right hand. He fired around five shots,” Ms Rattigan said at the time.

She said when she ran towards the gunman and shouted at him to “leave Shay alone” the gunman turned the gun on her and shot her in the leg.

She then grappled with the gunman, causing him to drop the murder weapon before he fled the scene.

Three men were later given life sentences for O’Byrne’s murder.

Garrett O’Brien, of Cloverhill, Bray, Co Wicklow, was convicted in November 2012 for the shooting.

Eugene Cullen was convicted in March 2014 for his role in organising the murder.

He has since died in custody.

Gary Flynn (31), of Rossfield Drive, Tallaght, was convicted of murder in 2016.

Flynn was convicted after the jury heard he was seen on CCTV travelling in a car with Cullen less than two hours before the murder.

Much of the prosecution evidence in his case was based on mobile phone evidence and CCTV footage collected by various gardai.

Liam Fleury, of the Forensic Science Institute, said he found particles of gunshot residue on a grey hoodie that Flynn was wearing when he was arrested.