Trial date fixed for Kildare man charged with murder of Roy Hopkins

A trial date has been fixed for early next year for a 28-year-old man charged with the murder of Roy Hopkins in Kildare in 2020. 

Robert Broughan, of St Patrick’s Park, Rathangan, Co Kildare, is charged with murder in the same town on July 31, 2020. 

When Mr Broughan was charged with the offence at Naas District Court on August 2, 2020, Detective Garda Seamus Doyle said that Mr Broughan and Mr Hopkins (34) were known to each other and attended the scene together. 

The detective said Mr Hopkins died following an assault by a “blunt instrument” which, he said, gardaí believed to be a baseball bat. 

The accused was originally set to stand trial last July, but this date was vacated to await a report. 

At the Central Criminal Court yesterday, Wednesday Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring set a new trial date for February 5, 2024, with the matter adjourned to July 21 next for case management. 

The trial is expected to last no more than two weeks.