Killer loses taxi murder appeal

Michael McGoldrick was shot dead in July 1996

The Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of a loyalist who murdered Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick during the Drumcree dispute in 1996.

Clifford McKeown, 47, was sentenced to 24 years in jail in 2003 after he boasted of the murder to a freelance journalist.

His lawyers claimed the journalist, Nick Martin-Clark, had invented the confession for financial gain.

However, Lord Chief Justice Kerr said such a suggestion was preposterous.

The body of Mr McGoldrick, who was 31, was found in his cab in a country lane at Aghagallon, several miles from Lurgan, County Armagh, a day after he had picked up a fare in the town.

He had been shot five times in the head.

After being convicted of the murder in March 2003, McKeown launched an appeal against his sentence on the grounds the trial judge should have excluded the evidence of Mr Martin-Clark.

During the appeal, McKeown's lawyers claimed that specific details about the killing related to the journalist were widely known as the murder was "notorious".

Clifford McKeown lost his appeal against his murder conviction

However, Lord Chief Justice Kerr said both he and his colleagues Lord Justice Sheil and Mr Justice Deeny were "satisfied" the 24-year sentence was safe.

He told the Court of Appeal: "During the third interview with Mr Martin-Clark, Mr McKeown boasted that he had killed Mr McGoldrick.

"During the fifth interview he provided details of the events leading up to and surrounding the killing.

"While the confession contained information that was in the public domain, we are satisfied that fact does not render the confession less likely to be true or unreliable."

He said the any financial gain Mr Martion-Clark would have gained from inventing the confession "was of little consequence when pitted against the enormous disruption to his life that has occurred as a result of his giving evidence".