Following his admission to the CMH in June 2020 he said that he could communicate with Gda Horkan, Dr Wright noted. He told doctors that he asked Gda Horkan what he was thinking and added: “What I get from him is regret.” The doctor noted that Mr Silver was obviously agitated “in the sense of being forceful but at the same time the speech was within normal limits.” He wants to deflect attention away from his less than wholesome image. The past has no place when you’re trying to win the people’s vote. Ms Lacey said it is a human trait to want to point the finger of blame or to punish Mr Silver for not taking his medication but, she said, the law doesn’t allow that. ‘Grudge’ She noted that during his garda interviews following the shooting he spoke about a “conspiracy to set him up” and had “grandiose delusions” about his own importance, power, knowledge and identity. He had on his first admission to hospital in 1997 told doctors that he was on a special mission and that he might be Jesus Christ.

Ms Lacey urged the jury consider Dr Wright’s statement that capacity is not absolute and that “just because someone behaves in a purposeful way in relation to a particular act... you can’t simply infer from that that the person has capacity generally”. I’m excited for more of this series in future and wouldn’t hesitate to listen to these narrators again on other books either. She said she accepted that there was evidence from a senior garda who said she had given Garda Horkan the duties of a detective on the day in question and there was evidence from other gardaí about Garda Horkan coming on duty that day. But, Ms Lacey added: “What wasn’t before you was formal proof in relation to his membership of An Garda Síochána and the law is that the prosecution must prove each and every element beyond a reasonable doubt and yet, there are discrepancies that are not yet explained.”

When I spotted him sneaking out the Dean’s window—a woman whose reputation precedes her—I could’ve minded my business. But it’s not every day you catch your nemesis in such a compromising position, so I did what any self-respecting person would’ve done.

She reminded the jury of the evidence of Mr Silver’s sister, Marian Bruen, who knew from a telephone call with her brother the day before the shooting that he needed to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital.She said the prosecution had provided no explanation for a discrepancy between the date when Gda Horkan’s identification card was issued and the date on which he was said to have been attested as a garda.