Mother of murder victim can't hate killer husband

A grieving mother said today she would not bear a grudge against the man who killed her daughter and then fled to Spain to escape.

Marie Gough’s daughter, Mary, was strangled by her husband Colin Whelan at their home in Balbriggan in 2001.

“I have the pain of not having Mary but I don’t carry the burden of hate. You’ve enough burdens in life without carrying that one and it wouldn’t do any good,” she said.

At her home in Stamullen, Co Meath, Mrs Gough said she also sympathised with the family of Colin Whelan, who pleaded guilty to the murder today at the Central Criminal Court. He is to be sentenced tomorrow in court, where he will receive a mandatory life sentence.

“I’d love to talk to his mother. There’s no winners. It’s tough all round. It’s dreadful to have to rear a son to turn out that way,” said Ms Gough.

“They have to live with it. But he’s there, they can put their arms around him.”

She said that despite the four years of hell which Whelan had put her family through since her daughter’s death in 2001, she was relieved at his guilty plea.

“There was no guarantee whether he would go down or not. It would have been a fortnight of anxiousness and it would have been tough every day. I’m relieved and my sons are as well.”

She said there were some dreadful crimes taking place which were affecting families all that time.

“I don’t know what’s wrong at all. Rachel O’Reilly (who was murdered last year at her home in the Naul), I knew her to see and well enough to say hello. I feel sorry for young people trying to raise a family.”

The Gough family have held annual remembrance Masses for Mary over the last four years, and for their late father.

The 27-year-old legal secretary was the only daughter in a family of five boys, who are now aged from 25 to 37.

Ms Gough said the death of Mary had put immense strain on her family but added that they had just about come through it.

“The worst of it is over now really. the lads can move on.”

She has learned more about Mary since from school and work friends who have come to provide support.

“We do have great craic about her sometimes. We can laugh and cry about her. You’d have to be on tranquillisers and drink not to think about her,” said Mrs Gough.