Teenager sentenced for violent killing of man in Kildare after a row on a bus

Seán McCárthaigh

A teenager and former Leinster Rugby youth player who killed a man in a violent assault in Kildare Town last year, after they had earlier been involved in an altercation on a bus has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Ryan Murphy (19) a student from The Curragh Plains, Kildare Town, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Ryan Weir Gibbons as a result of an incident at Magee Terrace, Kildare Town, on October 26th 2025.

Weir Gibbons (29) from Connagh Green, Kildare Town, was found unresponsive at 3.15 am and was brought by ambulance to Naas General Hospital, where he died from catastrophic head injuries four days later.

At a sentencing hearing at Naas Circuit Criminal Court on Friday, Murphy, who had kept his head bowed in court, showed no visible reaction as Judge Elva Duffy sentenced him to five years in prison.

Outside the courtroom, the deceased’s father, Edward Gibbons, burst into tears claiming the sentence was “unduly lenient.”

“This is going to crush us,” he cried.

Judge Duffy noted that Murphy had originally claimed he had acted in self-defence and initially indicated he had come across Mr Weir Gibbons’ body on the road.

However, the judge said the accused had to be given credit for subsequently admitting the charge of manslaughter at an early opportunity.

She said Murphy had also shown some level of maturity by electing to not postpone going into custody following an earlier court hearing, although it did not take anything away from the fatal incident.

The court had previously heard that Murphy and a group of friends had been “quite noisy and boisterous” while travelling home on a bus after a night socialising in Newbridge.

Detective Sergeant Patrick Dunne gave evidence that a verbal altercation broke out after Mr Weir Gibbons, who was already on the bus, had asked the group to be quieter.

Murphy was heard to say: “I’m going to smash your head in”, while he also made an attempt to grab the deceased’s hoodie before the bus driver and some of the accused’s friends intervened.

Weir Gibbons, who had moved to the front of the bus, seemed to make some comment towards the back of the bus as he was getting out in Kildare Town which resulted in Murphy becoming agitated.

Murphy and his friends got off the bus further on but encountered Mr Weir Gibbons again a short time later at 3.07am when the accused attacked his victim.

Judge Duffy said it was unfortunate that Murphy appeared to have got it into his head to try and find Mr Weir Gibbons, even though some of his friends seemed to try and calm him down.

The judge said a recording of the fatal incident by one of Murphy’s friends was very difficult to watch but she said the girl had no idea what was going to take place.

It showed Murphy asking: “Do you know who I am?” and asking the deceased to say sorry.

Judge Duffy said it showed that Mr Weir Gibbons held up both his hands and said he was sorry.

When he realised that Murphy was not calming down, she said it appeared that the deceased seemed to strike out at Murphy without connecting after which he was punched which caused him to suffer a fatal fall to the ground.

The court heard the accused and his friends went to Kildare garda station about six minutes later, while there also appeared to have been an attempt by Murphy to administer CPR to his victim after realising the seriousness of the situation.

Judge Duffy noted that Murphy, who is the second youngest of four children with no prior history of coming to the attention of gardaí, would lose significant opportunities because of his actions.

The accused, who was 18 at the time of the offence, is a student of sports management and coaching at South East Technical University in Carlow and previously represented Leinster Rugby at Under-18 club level.

The court heard he had offered a letter of apology to Weir Gibbons’ family.

However, the judge said he had shown some element of immaturity by going back to try and find Weir Gibbons after leaving the bus by engaging in some fight or “straightener.”

She observed that a probation report, which classified him as being at a low risk of re-offending, recorded that Murphy was still coming to terms with the gravity of what he had done, and he was struggling with the devastation he had caused a grieving family.

It also said Murphy was distressed at the immeasurable impact his actions had on his own family.

The judge said testimonials about Murphy indicated his actions on the night were out of character.

She also said she had heard very moving victim impact statements, which made it entirely clear how Weir Gibbons was “deeply loved and deeply mourned” by his family.

Sentencing Murphy to five years in prison, Judge Duffy said it was not a simple case of a drunken row as the accused had gone back looking for a fight.

Offering her condolences to a large group of Mr Weir Gibbons’s family and friends in the packed courtroom, she said she had also admired the dignity they had shown during the case and for allowing the court to see “a full and beautiful picture of the life that was lost to them.”

Speaking outside Naas courthouse after the hearing, the deceased’s sister, Nicole said the death of her brother, who was known as “Gibby”, had left “our family heartbroken and countless friends whose lives have been changed forever.”

“Ryan was so much more than the circumstances of his death. He had the most infectious smile. He was bubbly, full of life and had a way of lighting up every room he walked into,” said Weir Gibbons.

She added: “The pain of losing Ryan is something words can never fully describe. Every birthday, Christmas, family gathering and milestone will forever be overshadowed by his absence. Our family has endured unimaginable grief while also carrying the emotional burden of the criminal justice process.”

Speaking on behalf of her family, Weir Gibbons said the evidence heard in court “speaks for itself” as she pointed out how her brother had removed himself from the situation on the bus.

Weir also said that being shown recordings of the assault on Ryan and his final words had caused “immense emotional pain and lasting trauma.”

“Those are images no family should ever have to see. They remain with us every single day,” she observed.

Weir Gibbons said her family hoped Ryan’s death would serve as a reminder of “the devastating and irreversible consequences that violence can have.”

“One act has taken his life and left our family with a loss that we will carry forever,” she concluded.