Teen sentenced to 12 years for manslaughter

A 19-year-old Galway man was sentenced to 12 years for the manslaughter of his school friend, today at the Central Criminal Court.

Christopher McLoughlin, aged 20, of Curragh Park, Ballinasloe had pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Danny O'Neill on March 19, 2003 at Hymany Park, Ballinasloe, Galway.

Today Superintendent Paul Hargaden told the court that Mr McLoughlin stabbed the deceased with a knife in the chest after an altercation broke out at Hymany Park, Ballinasloe after 11pm on 18 March 2003.

Mr Justice Paul Carney said Mr McLoughlin had "considerable amount of convictions in particular to the possession of an axe and kitchen knife. It's got to be made clear that these crimes will not be tolerated".

Mr Justice Carney imposed a 12 year sentence back dated to March 19, 2003 with six months suspended.

The father of the deceased, Mr Daniel O'Neill Snr today said since the death of his son, his life had turned upside down.

"Our daughter had her First Holy Communion yesterday and the only place I could bring her was to the headstone," he said.

Mr O'Neill Snr said his six children ask him: "When is their brother coming home and I've no answers for them. Daniel is gone and he's not coming home.

"My life is destroyed and so is my wife's. My wife is afraid to go to town and open the door at night time," Mr O'Neill said after the sentence was handed down.

Supt Hargaden said today that after Mr O'Neill's condition deteriorated, the deceased was transferred by ambulance to the Mater Hospital in Dublin but died in the ambulance at Enfield, Co Meath on March 19, 2003.

Supt Hargaden said that the State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, would have told the court that Mr O'Neill died from "a single stab wound to the heart".

The court heard that the accused had been training to be a jockey in England and was going out with the deceased's sister, Ms Pamela O'Neill, aged 21, at the time of the altercation.

The defendant and Ms O'Neill were at Mr McLoughlin's house on the night in question.

The deceased called to the door and Ms O'Neill went out to her brother. Shortly afterwards the accused went to the front door to see what was going on.

But the accused went back into the house and took a kitchen knife from a drawer and went back outside and stabbed the deceased in the chest, Mr Denis Vaughan Buckley, SC for the prosecution said.

"The deceased wasn't armed with anything in the altercation outside the accused's dwelling," Supt Hargaden said.

Supt Hargaden told the court that when gardaí arrived at the scene the accused told them that "he didn't know" what had happened but he "had seen two young lads run across the pitch. He was denying the incident".

Just after midnight on March 19, 2003, the accused was arrested for serious assault of Mr O'Neill. Mr McLoughlin told gardaí then, "I know I've done wrong, I want to get this off my chest".

The accused was later re-arrested that day and subsequently charged with the murder of the deceased, Supt Hargaden told the court.

"Danny was out on the road, I went into the kitchen and took a knife. I wanted to show him I wasn't afraid," Mr McLoughlin told gardaí.

"He (the deceased) said c'mon. He drove me mad". "I said if he didn't go, he would be sorry," the deceased told gardaí.

"I lashed out at him. I stabbed him in the chest. I only stabbed him the once. I just lost it," Mr McLoughlin said to gardaí. "I didn't mean to hurt him that bad," the accused said.