Ireland Case No. 1914Murder · Co. Kildare · 31 Jul 2020
Man sentenced to life for murder in Rathangan, Co Kildare
Robert Broughan, a 30-year-old man from Rathangan, Co Kildare, was convicted of murdering his best friend Roy Hopkins, 34, with a baseball bat on the Grand Canal in Rathangan on 31 July 2020 after the two men went fishing together. Broughan's father alerted gardaí after Broughan made a disclosure to his parents, and he was arrested and made full admissions in custody before being charged at Naas District Court on 2 August 2020. A jury at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Kilkenny found him guilty on 28 February 2025 after deliberating for two hours and 53 minutes. On 7 April 2025, Mr Justice Tony Hunt sentenced Broughan to the mandatory term of life imprisonment, backdated to 1 August 2020.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court30 Mar
- Convicted28 Feb
- Sentenced7 Apr
5 reports
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Robert Broughan was convicted of beating his best friend Roy Hopkins to death with a baseball bat after the two men went fishing together.
- Where
- The killing took place on the Grand Canal in Rathangan, Co Kildare.
- When
- The killing took place on 31 July 2020.
- Weapon
- Gardaí identified the blunt instrument as a baseball bat, which Broughan had doused in petrol before leaving it on top of a shed at his home.
- Cause
- A post mortem found Hopkins died from a traumatic head injury following a blunt instrument assault.
- Investigation
- Broughan's father alerted Kildare Garda Station after Broughan made a disclosure to his parents, and Broughan was arrested and made full admissions in custody, declining a solicitor.
- Charges
- Broughan was charged with the murder of Roy Hopkins at Naas District Court on 2 August 2020.
- In court
- A jury at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Kilkenny found Broughan guilty of murder on 28 February 2025 after deliberating for two hours and 53 minutes.
- Sentence
- Mr Justice Tony Hunt sentenced Broughan to the mandatory term of life imprisonment on 7 April 2025, backdated to 1 August 2020 when he went into custody.
- Other details
- Broughan was 25 at the time of the killing and is currently 30 (one report gives 28); he had an addiction to Solpadeine and Codeine, and a psychiatrist initially found him qualified for a diminished responsibility defence based on psychosis, which was not put forward.
- Broughan sent a text to Hopkins's phone after the attack asking how his head was, and told gardaí he wanted to make Hopkins's head explode and had also wanted to kill another person.
- The judge said Broughan showed no sympathy or remorse for the Hopkins family, and Hopkins's mother Caitriona Hopkins said in a victim impact statement that Broughan had destroyed her trust in people.
74 statements extracted from the articles
- whatRobert Broughan is 28 years old (kildarenow.com)
- whatDetective Garda Seamus Doyle said Broughan and Hopkins were known to each other and attended the scene together (kildarenow.com)
- whatBroughan told gardaí he wanted to kill another person. (irishtimes.com, kildarenow.com)
- whatBroughan put petrol on the baseball bat before leaving it on top of a shed at his home. (irishtimes.com)
- whatIn his fifth interview, Broughan said he took three or four Solpadeine tablets before killing his friend. (irishtimes.com)
- whatBroughan beat his best friend Roy Hopkins to death with a baseball bat. (kildarenow.com)
- whatBroughan beat his best friend to a pulp with a baseball bat after they had set out on a fishing trip. (kildarenow.com)
- whereRoy Hopkins was killed near the Grand Canal in Rathangan, Co Kildare. (kildarenow.com)
- whereThe attack took place on the Grand Canal in Rathangan, Co Kildare. (rte.ie)
- whereThe attack happened on the Grand Canal. (kildarenow.com)
- whereThe killing took place in Rathangan, Co Kildare. (kildarenow.com)
- whenThe killing took place on 31 July 2020. (kildarenow.com)
- whenThe attack happened on 31 July 2020. (rte.ie)
- whenThe killing happened on 31 July 2020. (kildarenow.com)
- whenHopkins was murdered on July 31, 2020. (kildarenow.com)
- causeGardaí said Roy Hopkins died following an assault by a blunt instrument. (kildarenow.com)
- causeBroughan told gardaí that he intended to kill Hopkins and make his head explode. (rte.ie)
- causeThe two men had gone to the canal together to fish. (kildarenow.com)
- causeBroughan said he wanted to kill his friend. (kildarenow.com)
- weaponGardaí believed the blunt instrument to be a baseball bat (kildarenow.com)
- weaponGardaí believed the blunt instrument was a baseball bat. (kildarenow.com)
- weaponBroughan hit Hopkins with a baseball bat. (rte.ie)
- weaponBroughan hit Mr Hopkins on the forehead with the baseball bat. (kildarenow.com)
- weaponBroughan had put petrol on the baseball bat before leaving it on the top of a shed at his home. (kildarenow.com)
- investigationHopkins's father alerted gardaí after Broughan told the family what he had done. (rte.ie)
- investigationBroughan was arrested and made full admissions in custody, declining a solicitor. (rte.ie)
- investigationBroughan gave gardaí a full account and admitted the murder in his garda interviews. (kildarenow.com)
- investigationBroughan's father alerted Kildare Garda Station after Broughan made a disclosure to his parents. (kildarenow.com)
- chargeBroughan is charged with murder of Roy Hopkins on 31 July 2020 in Rathangan (kildarenow.com)
- chargeRobert Broughan was found guilty of the murder of Roy Hopkins. (kildarenow.com)
- courtBroughan was charged at Naas District Court on 2 August 2020 (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe original trial date in July 2022 was vacated to await a report (kildarenow.com)
- courtMs Justice Mary Ellen Ring set a new trial date for 5 February 2024 (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe matter was adjourned to 21 July 2023 for case management (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe trial is expected to last no more than two weeks (kildarenow.com)
- courtA jury in the Central Criminal Court sitting in Kilkenny found Robert Broughan guilty of murder. (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe trial began on 17 February. (kildarenow.com)
- courtA number of locals from Rathangan travelled to give evidence at the trial. (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe jury spent 2 hours and 53 minutes considering its verdict. (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict. (kildarenow.com)
- courtMr Justice Tony Hunt said Broughan had shown no sympathy or remorse for the Hopkins family. (rte.ie)
- courtA jury took 2 hours and 53 minutes to find Broughan guilty of murdering Hopkins on 28 February 2025. (irishtimes.com)
- courtA psychiatrist initially found Broughan qualified for a defence of diminished responsibility based on psychosis. (irishtimes.com)
- courtBroughan gave a full account of and admitted to the murder in his Garda interviews. (irishtimes.com)
- courtA jury found Broughan guilty of murdering Mr Hopkins. (kildarenow.com)
- courtThe case was heard in the Central Criminal Court. (kildarenow.com)
- courtA jury took two hours and 53 minutes to find Broughan guilty of murder. (kildarenow.com)
- sentenceThe case was adjourned to 7 April for sentencing in the Central Criminal Court sitting in Dublin. (kildarenow.com)
- sentenceThe judge imposed the mandatory term of life in prison on Broughan. (rte.ie)
- sentenceBroughan was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment. (irishtimes.com, kildarenow.com)
- sentenceThe sentence was backdated to 1 August 2020 when he went into custody. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceThe sentence was backdated to 1 August 2020, when Broughan went into custody. (kildarenow.com)
- sentenceBroughan was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment for murdering Hopkins. (kildarenow.com)
- sentenceThe life sentence was backdated to August 1, 2020, when Broughan went into custody. (kildarenow.com)
- sentenceThe man who murdered Roy Hopkins has been jailed for life. (kildarenow.com)
- otherBroughan hit Hopkins again after he fell into the reeds, four times in all. (rte.ie)
- otherBroughan doused the baseball bat in petrol and threw it on top of a shed. (rte.ie)
- otherBroughan sent Hopkins a text after the attack asking how his head was. (rte.ie)
- otherIn her victim impact statement, Hopkins's mother said Broughan had destroyed her trust in people. (rte.ie)
- otherBroughan was 25 at the time of the murder. (rte.ie)
- otherThe court heard Broughan was addicted to Solpadeine. (rte.ie)
- otherBroughan has three previous convictions from one incident, including criminal damage with a €200 fine. (irishtimes.com)
- otherTwo public order incidents for threatening and abusive behaviour and intoxication were taken into consideration. (irishtimes.com)
- otherBroughan had addictive issues with Codeine and Solpadeine and would take excessive amounts. (irishtimes.com)
- otherBroughan was badly burned in a bonfire as a 10-year-old, was in hospital for a year and had numerous skin grafts. (irishtimes.com)
- otherA post mortem found Mr Hopkins died from a traumatic head injury. (kildarenow.com)
- otherThe defence of diminished responsibility was not put forward. (kildarenow.com)
- otherBroughan sent a text to the victim's phone after killing him. (kildarenow.com)
- otherThe judge said Broughan showed no sympathy or remorse. (kildarenow.com)
- otherA post mortem found Hopkins died from a traumatic head injury. (kildarenow.com)
- otherThe judge said Broughan had shown no sympathy for the Hopkins family or expressed remorse. (kildarenow.com)
- otherIn his victim impact statement, Hopkins' mother said she was full of rage and anger. (kildarenow.com)
- otherThe victim's mother is from Rathangan. (kildarenow.com)
- otherThe Leinster Leader features a mother of a murdered man speaking out. (kildarenow.com)
The reporting
newest first- 7 Apr2025Kildare mum speaks out about murdered son in this week's LEINSTER LEADER
Promotional notice for the Leinster Leader that reports the victim's mother speaking out after the sentence. It adds no details of the crime or sentence beyond the jailing for life.
victim, Roy Hopkins, male, irish (judged from name)Roy Hopkinsconvicted, male - 7 Apr2025'I'm full of rage' - Kildare mum sees killer of son jailed for life
Reports the sentencing of Robert Broughan to life imprisonment, the backdating of the sentence, and the victim impact statement from Roy Hopkins' mother. Adds the trial verdict timing and details of the injuries and the petrol-soaked bat.
convicted, Robert Broughan, 30, male, named, irish (judged from name)Robert Broughanvictim, Roy Hopkins, 34, male, irish (judged from name)Roy Hopkins - 7 Apr2025BREAKING: Kildare man gets life for murder of 'best friend'
Reports the Central Criminal Court sentencing of Broughan to life imprisonment, the victim impact statement from Roy Hopkins' mother, the jury verdict on 28 February, and details of the evidence and the judge's remarks.
convicted, Robert Broughan, 30, male, named, irish (judged from name)Robert Broughanvictim, Roy Hopkins, 34, male, irish (judged from name)Roy Hopkins - 7 Apr2025‘I’m haunted by the horror of it’: Mother of murder victim describes impact on family as killer is jailed
Sentencing hearing with victim-impact statement from Catriona Hopkins; details of Broughan's admissions to gardaí, his prior convictions, drug use, and the failed diminished responsibility defence.
victim, Roy Hopkins, 34, male, irish (judged from name)Roy Hopkinsconvicted, Robert Broughan, 34, male, named, irish (judged from name)Robert Broughanvictim, Catriona Hopkins, female, irish (judged from name)Catriona Hopkins - 7 Apr2025Trust destroyed, says mother of man murdered by friend
Adds the sentencing hearing: Mr Justice Tony Hunt imposed the mandatory life sentence, Hopkins's mother read a victim impact statement, and the article gives Broughan's age at the time of the killing (25) and his addiction to Solpadeine.
victim, Roy Hopkins, 34, male, irish (judged from name)Roy Hopkinsconvicted, Robert Broughan, 30, male, named, irish (judged from name)Robert Broughan - 28 Feb2025BREAKING: Kildare man found guilty of murder of friend at Grand Canal in Kildare
Reports the jury verdict finding Robert Broughan guilty of murder, with the trial details and sentencing date of 7 April. Gives Broughan's age as 28, which differs from the 30 in the existing record.
victim, Roy Hopkins, 34, male, irish (judged from name)Roy Hopkinsconvicted, Robert Broughan, 28, male, named, irish (judged from name)Robert Broughan - 30 Mar2023Trial date fixed for Kildare man charged with murder of Roy Hopkins
Trial date fixed for 5 February 2024 at the Central Criminal Court before Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring; case management adjourned to 21 July 2023; original July 2022 trial date had been vacated to await a report; trial expected to last no more than two weeks.
victim, Roy Hopkins, 34, male, irish (judged from name)Roy Hopkinsaccused, Robert Broughan, 28, male, named, irish (judged from name)Robert Broughan