Golden murder trial to begin Thursday

A jury has been sworn in for the Central Criminal Court trial of a Leitrim teenager accused of killing Cavan pensioner at his Killeshandra home almost two years ago. Brendan McGovern of Killahurk, Carrigallen has pleaded not guilty to the murder of 73-year-old Johnny Golden at Nedd, Doogarry, Killeshandra on September 7, 2010. The pensioner was not married and lived alone. Mr Golden was found unconscious by neighbours in his home and the alarm raised. However, he never woke from a coma and died in Cavan General Hospital some four weeks later, on October 6, 2010. Now aged 19, McGovern was charged with Golden's murder at the end of May last year when he was brought before a special sitting of Ballyconnell District Court by Gardaí. In a packed courtroom in Ballyconnell, McGovern was accompanied by his parents as well as an uncle and a number of neighbours, while a number of Mr Golden's neighbours, including Lady Sue Kilbracken for whom the pensioner worked on her estate in Carrigallen, were also present in court. Mr Golden was buried in November 2010. His funeral was one of the largest seen in the west Cavan area. A noted mechanic, Johnny was president of Cornafean Vintage Club. The murder trial will get underway tomorrow at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin and is expected to take between six and seven days.