Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 0340Murder · Co. Tipperary · 3 Jun 2011

Patrick Quirke convicted of murdering DJ Bobby Ryan (Mr Moonlight) in Tipperary

Bobby Ryan, a part-time DJ known as Mr Moonlight, went missing on 3 June 2011 after leaving his girlfriend Mary Lowry's home in Tipperary, and his naked body was found in an underground run-off tank at Fawnagown in April 2013. Patrick Quirke, a married man from Breanshamore, Tipperary, was charged with murder, with the prosecution alleging he killed Ryan to rekindle an affair with Lowry. After a 13-week trial, Quirke was found guilty in 2019, with the judge acknowledging the evidence was circumstantial and ruling key audio recordings and computer search evidence inadmissible. A retrospective feature published in 2026 looked back on the case as one of Ireland's longest trials.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Convicted4 Sep
  6. Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
What happened
  • Bobby Ryan, a part-time DJ known as Mr Moonlight, went missing on 3 June 2011 after leaving his girlfriend Mary Lowry's home at around 6:30am.
  • Patrick Quirke, a married man from Breanshamore, Tipperary, was found guilty of Ryan's murder in 2019 after a 13-week trial.
  • Ryan was violently assaulted after leaving Lowry's house and placed into the tank by Quirke.
Where
Ryan's naked body was found in an underground run-off tank at Fawnagown, Tipperary, in April 2013, on a farm owned by Mary Lowry and leased by Quirke.
Cause
The prosecution claimed Quirke murdered Ryan to rekindle an affair with Mary Lowry, with whom he had an intimate relationship between 2008 and 2010.
Investigation
  • Quirke had secret audio recordings of him being intimate with Mary Lowry, which were ruled inadmissible by the defence.
  • Quirke's computer was used to look up articles on notorious Irish murderers and on the decomposition of bodies, which gardai believed showed he was searching for information on how to get away with murder.
In court
The judge acknowledged the evidence was circumstantial, and Justice Creedon ruled the computer search evidence inadmissible as prejudicial.
19 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatPatrick Quirke was found guilty of the murder of Bobby Ryan in 2019. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatBobby Ryan was a part-time DJ known as Mr Moonlight. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatQuirke was a married man. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatThe judge acknowledged the evidence was circumstantial. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatRyan was violently assaulted after leaving Lowry's house and placed into the tank by Quirke. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whatMary Lowry told gardai she did not give permission to be recorded and was disgusted when they played the audio to her. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whereQuirke is from Breanshamore in Tipperary. (irishmirror.ie)
  • whereRyan's naked body was found in an underground run-off tank at Fawnagown, Tipperary, in April 2013. (irishmirror.ie)
  • causeThe prosecution claimed Quirke murdered Ryan to rekindle an affair with Mary Lowry. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationQuirke had secret audio recordings of him being intimate with Mary Lowry. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationQuirke's computer was used to look up articles on notorious Irish murderers including Joe O'Reilly. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationDet Gda Fitzpatrick found evidence Quirke was looking up articles on Siobhan Kearney, murdered by her husband Brian in February 2006. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationQuirke also looked up articles on Jo Jo Dullard, who went missing in 1995. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationGardai believe Quirke was looking for information on how to get away with murder. (irishmirror.ie)
  • investigationQuirke viewed articles such as 'The limits of DNA Evidence' and multiple articles on the decomposition of bodies. (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtThe trial lasted 13 weeks. (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtMs Justice Eileen Creedon outlined the case against Quirke after his conviction. (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtThe audio recordings were ruled inadmissible by the defence. (irishmirror.ie)
  • courtJustice Creedon ruled the computer search evidence inadmissible as prejudicial. (irishmirror.ie)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 4 Sep2026
    Convictedirishmirror.ie, follow-up
    Mr Moonlight murder still horrifies - a look at one of Ireland's longest trials

    Retrospective feature article published in 2026 looking back at the 2019 trial and conviction of Patrick Quirke for the 2011 murder of Bobby Ryan, including details of the circumstantial evidence and inadmissible recordings.

    victim, Bobby Ryan, male, irish (judged from name)Bobby Ryanconvicted, Patrick Quirke, male, named, irish (judged from name)Patrick Quirke