Woman jailed for eight years for husband's manslaughter

A Dublin civil servant who was convicted of the manslaughter of her husband has been sentenced to eight years in prison by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court.

Last month Mrs Dolores O’Neill, aged 51, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by a majority verdict of 10 to two.

O'Neill had denied murdering her 46-year-old husband, Declan, on or about July 22, 2002, at the family home in Coolamber Park, Knocklyon, in Dublin.

Members of the dead man's family wept as the sentence was delivered by Mr Justice Carney.

Rocking from side to side throughout the 45 minute sentencing, Mrs O’Neill was visibly upset. Her eldest son, Brian O’Neill, aged 21, sat behind his mother as the trial judge delivered sentencing.

Mr O'Neill's brother, Brian, was invited by Mr Justice Carney to deliver an victim impact statement to the court.

Mr O’Neill told the court that his family was alerted on July 23, 2002 of the "brutal murder" of their brother.

"Our brother, Dermot, had to identify Declan’s battered stabbed body in the morgue," he said.

Mr O’Neill said the sight of his brother in the morgue, was "a horrific sight", and "it will remain in our memory till death".

His arms and hands were "unmarked", his brother said, which showed there was no attempt to defend himself.

During the trial, Mr O’Neill said his family "watched in silence" and "incredulity".

His sister-in-law, he said, "set about the destruction of his good character". "After brutally slaying him, she assassinated his good character," Mr O’Neill told the court.

"We felt Declan wasn’t allowed a chance for his character to be revealed," he said. As a family, Mr O'Neill said they were "sickened by Dolores’s cold blooded murder of Declan".

"The foul mouthed language she attributed to Declan rolled so easily from her tongue," a visibly shaken Mr O’Neill told the court.

In conclusion, he said "our legal system gives no defence to the victim of a brutal killing".

Before the sentence was delivered, Mr Justice Carney told the court he had received "three more letters" from an unnamed person regarding the Dolores O’Neill trial.

"The second one was written at 2.40am and showed serious intent to bring the court into contempt," he said.

This person, Judge Carney said, was "blatantly seeking to influence my conduct". This, he said was the "gravest attempt of contempt of court".

"For the time being taking into the account of the age of this party, I am not going to initiate proceedings of contempt of court," Mr Justice Carney said.

Addressing Mrs O’Neill, Mr Justice Carney said: "This case has been particularly difficult for all the relatives of the deceased man."

But he said, the character of Declan O’Neill had been brought into this case. It was said in court that the deceased was a "raging alcoholic". But Mr Justice Carney said the toxicology reports were completely negative to drugs or alcohol.

Mr Justice Carney said he was "bound by the jury’s verdict" of Dolores O’Neill. He said that she was a "person of no previous convictions". She is "clearly a good mother and is devoted to her two boys".

The evidence, Mr Justice Carney, said "indicated no resistance on the part of the deceased".

"It indicated he was asleep or disabled by the first blow. There were no defensive injuries. I am satisfied there was no resistance on his part," Mr Justice Carney said.

"He was hit with 26 blows by a plumber's hammer, then 21 blows of a knife," Mr Justice Carney said.

The hammer, he said, was "procured from under the bed".

Taking all into consideration, Mr Justice Carney said he imposed a sentence of eight years in prison dating from the date of conviction.

Two of Mrs O’Neill’s former employers delivered statements to the court regarding her character. Mr Frank Brady, assistant chief officer with the legal aid board, said Mrs O’Neill had an "established work record" over a five-and-a-half year period.

She was an "excellent, hard working" employee, he told the court.

Mr Brian Merriman, head of communications with the Equality Authority, said Mrs O’Neill "impressed" everyone in the department and was a "good asset to the organisation".

She was particularly good with young people in the organisation showing "kindness and patience".

Mr Merriman said he had become aware of her "extended durations" of leave from work. Mrs O’Neill, he said, was a "very private person" but she admitted to him she had "personal difficulties".

He said: "No matter the season, Mrs O’Neill was always completely covered." This, he said, raised "speculation" about Mrs O’Neill.

"She was a very valued employee and still is highly regarded by her employees," Mr Merriman told the court.

Dr Patricia Galligan told the court that Mrs O’Neill had been "suffering from post traumatic stress" after the fatal incident. "She was extremely remorseful," Dr Galligan said.