Family angry at sailor's jail sentence

The family of a 21-year-old sailor who drowned after he was thrown overboard the navy flagship, the L.E. Eithne reacted with disbelief today when his killer was jailed for five years.

Sean Lundon (21) of James Connolly Park, Tipperary was jailed for five years at the Central Criminal Court for the manslaughter of fellow crewman Able Seaman Brian Gorey (21) of Devon Close, Castletroy View, Limerick, at Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin on 22 April 2001.

The court also heard that two months after Mr Gorey’s death, while out on bail Lundon assaulted a man in Tipperary town, causing him serious harm. He pleaded guilty to charges of assault and assault causing harm and awaits sentencing in Clonmel Circuit Court.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Carney said the killing of Brian Gorey was “one of the most difficult cases” he has ever dealt with and said it was “frightening” that such gratuitous violence was now set off by drink alone.

“It is frightening that it [drinking alcohol] is going to lead to this without the involvement of cannabis,” he said.

He said that Brian Gorey posed no threat to anyone on the night he was savagely beaten and propelled overboard for “a reason that is not clear and probably never will be”.

Speaking outside the courthouse following the sentencing, Brian Gorey’s father Michael said, “at the end of the day if taking a life is only worth five years, there’s going to be a lot more killings in the country”.

He said he did not accept any apology from Lundon and said “it meant nothing to him”.

He also called on the Minister for Defence to explain and investigate why Lundon had not been discharged from the Defence Forces after he was convicted of manslaughter. “He should have been thrown out of the Defence Forces, he has been paid more than 40,000 euros of taxpayers money.”

During the trial last month Lundon denied murdering his crewmate Brian Gorey, who could not swim. He admitted to gardai that he hit him with a ceramic ashtray and broke a brush handle on his head during a row, but claimed he took the deceased up on deck for air and that he "slipped away" into the water and drowned.

Evidence was heard that both men had drunk a lot of the night in question in a number of pubs in the city on the night in question. They continued drinking onboard with a group of crew members until close to 5am when Mr Lundon was the last person in the recreational room with Mr Gorey, who was

sleeping on the couch.

Mr Lundon, who did not give direct evidence in the case, first told gardai that Mr Gorey woke up and threw an ashtray at him. But in a later statement he said he “lost the head” because Mr Gorey annoyed him when he tried to wake him up. After Lundon punched him and hit him with the ashtray and broom handle he picked Mr Gorey up and carried him to the deck.

“He was struggling, slapping out at me, I pushed him back hard into the chest and he went over the rail”.

He said he called out for help before panicking away to his cabin. His defence, led by Mr Brendan Grehan SC said Mr Lundon never intended for his crewmate to go overboard.

When Mr Gorey was spotted struggling in the water by one member of the crew a 'man overboard' alarm was raised. A lifeboat reached him within minutes, but he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

A number of young sailors who were drinking in the room with Lundon and Mr Gorey in the hours before the incident gave evidence that there was no hostility between the two men and said Mr Gorey was in "great form".

The Deputy State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy told the trial that a postmortem examination established that Mr Gorey was assaulted before he went overboard, but that he died from drowning.

She told the court that the deceased man had a blood alcohol level of 226 milligrammes and was "moderately intoxicated" at the time of death.

Michael Gorey told the court his family had been destroyed by the loss of their son who he described as “a perfect gentleman” who loved the navy.