# Christopher Kelly on trial for murder of Joseph McEvoy in Clondalkin Case 1359. Murder, Co. Dublin, 2025-07-07 **TL;DR:** Joseph McEvoy, a 34-year-old father of two from Greenfort Avenue, Clondalkin, was found unresponsive outside a house in Shancastle Close, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, in the early hours of 7 July 2025 and was pronounced dead at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown at 7.33am. Gardaí linked the killing to a family feud in the area and to a night of violence including an arson attack on a house in Shancastle, a burned-out car in Glenfield Avenue and a rammed vehicle in the Greenfort estate. Christopher Kelly, a man in his 40s of Shancastle Park, Clondalkin, was arrested at 3.07pm on 8 July 2025, charged with murder about an hour later and made no reply, before Judge David McHugh remanded him in custody and granted him free legal aid. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to murdering McEvoy at Shancastle Close on 7 July 2025, and his trial continues before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and a jury, where the prosecution says he acted like a vigilante after the arson attack on his home and his sister Leanne McEvoy has given evidence about the attack. **Stage:** In court. Reported stages: Reported (2025-07-07), Arrested (2025-07-07), Charged (2025-07-07), In court (2026-11-05) ## People - Victim: Joseph McEvoy, man, 34 - Suspect: Christopher Kelly, man, 34 (reports differ: 41) ## Key facts **What happened** - Joseph McEvoy, a 34-year-old man, was fatally stabbed outside a house in Shancastle Close, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, and pronounced dead at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown at 7.33am. **When** - The attack happened in the early hours of Monday 7 July 2025, with reports giving times between about 5.30am and just before 6am. **Where** - The accused, Christopher Kelly, has an address at Shancastle Park, Clondalkin, and lived approximately 200 metres from McEvoy's home. **Cause** - The cause of death was a sharp-force chop injury to the left side of McEvoy's face and head, 27cm long and about 5cm deep, which cut through the jugular vein and damaged the jaw bone, temporal bone and cervical vertebrae. **Weapon** - The weapon was a machete or similar weapon, and witnesses described Kelly jumping from his white pickup truck with a machete in his hand. **Investigation** - A murder investigation was launched with an incident room at Lucan Garda station, a senior investigating officer, a family liaison officer, a preserved scene examined by the Garda Technical Bureau and a post-mortem by the Office of the State Pathologist. - Gardaí appealed for witnesses and camera or dashcam footage from the area between 5am and 6am on 7 July 2025. - Kelly was arrested at 3.07pm on 8 July 2025 at Ronanstown Garda station and charged at 3.55pm or 3.58pm, making no reply after caution. **Charges** - Christopher Kelly was charged with the murder of Joseph McEvoy at Shancastle Close on 7 July 2025 and has pleaded not guilty. **In court** - Kelly appeared before Dublin District Court on 8 July 2025, where Judge David McHugh granted free legal aid and remanded him in custody to Cloverhill District Court on 11 July, with no bail application as bail on a murder charge can only be granted by the High Court. - The trial is before Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and a jury of four men and eight women at the Central Criminal Court, with Brendan Grehan SC for the prosecution and Dr Yvonne McCartney among those involved. **Sentence** - Kelly was remanded to Cloverhill Prison to appear before the courts again via video link at 10am on the Friday after his charge. **Other details** - The prosecution says Kelly acted like a vigilante after an arson attack on his Clondalkin home, and there is no suggestion McEvoy was involved in that arson, while Kelly told gardaí McEvoy came out brandishing a slash hook, which Leanne McEvoy denied seeing. - McEvoy was club captain at Clondalkin-based Quarryvale FC, a father of two young boys and step-father to a girl, and gardaí linked the killing to a family-based feud in west Dublin, with preceding incidents including a burned-out car in Glenfield Avenue, a rammed car in the Greenfort estate and a petrol bomb attack on a house in Shancastle. ## Reports (18) | Date | Outlet | Report | |---|---|---| | 2025-07-07 | extra.ie | [Garda appeal as man fatally assaulted in Dublin](https://extra.ie/2025/07/07/news/garda-fatal-assault-dublin) | | 2025-07-07 | rte.ie | [Murder investigation launched after fatal Dublin stabbing](https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2025/0707/1522248-assault-dublin/) | | 2025-07-07 | garda.ie | [Witness Appeal - Fatal Assault, Dublin 22, 7th July 2025](https://www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/office-of-corporate-communications/press-releases/2025/july/witness-appeal-fatal-assault-dublin-22-7th-july-2025.html) | | 2025-07-07 | garda.ie | [Update: Court Appearance - Witness Appeal - Fatal Assault, Dublin 22, 7th July 2025](https://www.garda.ie/en/about-us/our-departments/office-of-corporate-communications/press-releases/2025/july/update-court-appearance-witness-appeal-fatal-assault-dublin-22-7th-july-2025.html) | | 2025-07-07 | irishmirror.ie | [Dublin murder live updates as gardai seal off home after body found](https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/dublin-murder-live-updates-gardai-35513602) | | 2025-07-07 | dublinlive.ie | [Stabbing victim named locally as football club pays tribute](https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/stabbing-victim-named-locally-football-32010770) | | 2025-07-07 | irishmirror.ie | [Dublin stabbing victim named locally as football club pays tribute](https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/dublin-stabbing-victim-named-locally-35514735) | | 2025-07-07 | irishtimes.com | [Gardaí believe Dublin murder followed night of violence connected to family-based feud in the area](https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2025/07/07/gardai-believed-dublin-murder-linked-to-feud-related-petrol-bombings-car-ramming-overnight/) | | 2025-07-08 | extra.ie | [Tributes paid after soccer player stabbed to death in South Dublin](https://extra.ie/2025/07/08/news/irish-news/soccer-player-stabbed-dublin) | | 2025-07-08 | irishmirror.ie | [Man charged over fatal assault of footballer Joseph McEvoy in Dublin](https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/crime/man-charged-over-fatal-assault-35522023) | | 2025-07-08 | rte.ie | [Man charged with murder after fatal west Dublin stabbing](https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/0708/1522493-fatal-assault-charge/) | | 2025-07-08 | irishtimes.com | [Man charged over murder of Joseph McEvoy in Dublin](https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2025/07/08/gardai-braced-for-escalation-in-very-chaotic-gang-feud-after-murder-of-joseph-mcevoy-in-clondalkin/) | | 2025-07-08 | gript.ie | [Man charged with Clondalkin murder - Gript](https://gript.ie/man-charged-with-clondalkin-murder/) | | 2025-07-08 | irishtimes.com | [Man (41) appears in court charged with murder of Joseph McEvoy in Dublin](https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2025/07/08/man-41-appears-in-court-charged-with-murder-of-joseph-mcevoy-in-clondalkin/) | | 2025-07-08 | irishmirror.ie | [Man, 41, appears in court charged with murder of father of two Joseph McEvoy](https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/man-34-appears-court-charged-35523190) | | 2026-11-05 | irishmirror.ie | [Murder accused acted like 'vigilante' in inflicting machete wound, court told](https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/murder-accused-acted-like-vigilante-37848598) | | 2026-11-11 | irishmirror.ie | ['Blood everywhere': Sister describes brother being fatally slashed with machete](https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/blood-pouring-everywhere-sister-describes-37867694) | | 2026-11-12 | dublinlive.ie | [Sister describes brother being fatally slashed with machete: 'Blood everywhere'](https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/sister-describes-brother-being-fatally-34899863) | HTML: https://irelandcrime.com/case/christopher-kelly-on-trial-for-murder-of-joseph-mcevoy-in-clondalkin-1359 This page is put together automatically from the reports listed above. 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