Man sentenced to 18 months for accessory to murder

A High Court judge said the "insane behaviour" of a man sentenced to 18 months for being an accessory to murder was led by a "misguided sense of friendship".

Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns was speaking at the Central Criminal Court today as he passed the jail term on 30-year-old Alan Graham Clucas for his part in events following the murder of Ms Charlene McAuliffe.

The 19-year-old Dublin woman was murdered in Kilnap Place, Farranree, Cork in 1999. Gerard Graham, a 35-year-old Dingle fisherman was yesterday sentenced to life after pleading guilty to her murder.

Alan Graham Clucas, a native of Port Erin in the Isle of Man, pleaded guilty to knowing or believing, on a date between October 2 and October 3, 1999 that Gerard Graham was guilty of the offence of having murdered Charlene McAuliffe. Clucas admitted his part in bringing the body of Ms McAuliffe to

Dingle with Graham and hiding it in his mobile home in Ventry, Co Kerry to impede garda detection.

The court yesterday heard garda evidence describing Clucas as a "loner" who found it difficult to make friends. Mr Michael Counihan SC for the prosecution told the court that after he choked Ms McAuliffe to death Graham phoned Clucas, who was living in Waterford at the time, and asked him to

come to Cork as "a matter of urgency" to help him to get rid of the body.

In a statement to gardai, Clucas said he "just wanted to help a friend" and that he "should have gone back to Waterford" when he became aware that Ms McAuliffe was dead.

Once the pair had concealed the body at the mobile home in Ventry they discussed dumping the body at Peddler's Lake near the Conor Pass in Dingle or at sea. Soon after the gardai located the dead woman's remains wrapped in plastic refuse sacks in the mobile home.

Mr Myles Walker, the former Prime Minister of the Isle of Man and a close friend of the Clucas family gave evidence to the court yesterday. He said the actions of Alan Graham Clucas "had a very deep and lasting effect" on the family, especially "the thoughts of other people suffering", he said.

The accused man's father Mr Alan Clucas told the court it was a "very stupid

act".

The court also heard that Clucas had a non-malignant growth on his brain and was scheduled for neurosurgery next week. Mr Clucas Senior said he was "not a medical person" but had been informed that it had to be removed within six to twelve months.

The judge said he was "quite impressed" with defence submissions and had taken "very much" into account the evidence of Mr Walker. He was aware that Clucas had "no hand whatsoever in the perpetration of the murder" and that he had co-operated with gardai and pleaded guilty. However, he said the interference of the accused could have caused the body of the victim to go

missing "for months, if not years", adding to the family's trauma.

Ms Anne Watkin BL for the defence was refused leave to appeal the sentence.

The mother and friends of the deceased woman were visibly upset in court as sentence was passed.