'We won't let the man who stole our brother's life steal the rest of ours': Christy McGrath's family reacts to killer's sentence

The sister of a man killed by a martial arts instructor with whom he once had an "intimate (and) dysfunctional" relationship has said the almost three years since her brother's death have been "lonely, isolating and terrifying".

However, following her brother's killer's conviction and sentence today, she said Christy McGrath's family was now determined to live happy and healthy lives.

Noel Lenihan from Cardinal Cushing Road, Mervue, Galway was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty in July to Christopher McGrath's (38) manslaughter on March 12, 2017 at Lenihan's home. The plea was accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Speaking outside the Central Criminal Court today, the deceased's sister Catherine McGrath told the media: "It's nearly three years on since our brother Christy died.

"I can only describe the period since 2017 as lonely, isolating and terrifying. As a family we are determined to live a happy, healthy and full life starting tomorrow and not to let the man who stole our brother's life steal the rest of ours. We know that is what he would want.

"Today feels very significant and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our family liaison officer and the detectives who worked tirelessly on this case to tell Christopher's side of the story. Please spare a thought for Christy today that he can now rest in peace.

"If he taught me one lesson from childhood, it's that humour can be found in even the darkest of situations and to live life and to enjoy it and to not just exist. That was one of his strengths. Christy would convert anything and everything into a joke and that is strangely enough what has gotten us through this surreal and heart-wrenching experience.

"I think there is a lesson there for everyone. Thank you Christy for being you and helping us laugh through all these tears."

Ms McGrath described her brother Christy as "incredibly brave, determined, an inspiration, who was funny, warm, hilarious and interesting".

She said the family was happy with the four-year sentence handed down to Lenihan by the judge.

EARLIER: Jail for martial arts instructor who stabbed man to death; Judge references 'dysfunctional relationship'

A 67-year-old martial arts instructor, who repeatedly stabbed a man who he once had an "intimate" relationship with, has been jailed for four years for manslaughter.

Sentencing Noel Lenihan today at the Central Criminal Court, Mr Justice Michael White said the two men's "dysfunctional" relationship had not been good for either of them based on difficulties complicated by alcohol consumption.

"Difficulties" had come to Lenihan in his "own home" and the court had to give serious consideration to this, noted the judge. However, Mr Justice White said the defendant's own account of what happened inside his house that night did not reflect the degree of injuries inflicted on the deceased. "No doubt he minimised the degree of excessive force he used," added the judge.

The court heard that the defendant was considered "a family friend" to the deceased's younger siblings and that the two men were previously in an "intimate" relationship. The court heard that Lenihan had kissed Mr McGrath when he was 14 years old but there was "nothing of a sexual nature until he became an adult".

Lenihan from Cardinal Cushing Road, Mervue, Galway was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty in July to Christopher McGrath's (38) manslaughter on March 12, 2017 at Lenihan's home. The plea was accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The court previously heard that Mr McGrath had spent his youth protecting his younger siblings from their "mentally unstable" mother by "taking the brunt" of her "fierce temper". However, the deceased had a history of difficulties with drugs and alcohol, was in and out of homelessness and would sometimes stay at Lenihan's house.

Lenihan claimed he was acting in self defence when he stabbed Mr McGrath "in fear" with a steak knife after the deceased scaled a wall at the back of his house in the early hours of the morning, came in through a back door and threatened him.

Following a struggle between the pair, Lenihan told gardai in his interviews that Mr McGrath put him in a "scarf hold", a judo hold that the defendant had previously taught him. The deceased told Lenihan that he would choke him before the defendant found a knife underneath an armchair.

Acting State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan said Mr McGrath had suffered five knife wounds, including a fatal wound to the heart that was consistent with a "direct frontal" movement rather than a backwards one. However, Lenihan claimed he had used the knife in a "get off me" motion while he still had his back to Mr McGrath.

Passing sentence today, Mr Justice White noted there was an "internal conflict" on the evidence as to the nature of violence inflicted by Lenihan on Mr McGrath as distinct from the defendant's own account. The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) had fully accepted that Lenihan's manslaughter sentence was based on excessive self defence, explained the judge, adding that the defendant had no intention to intentionally kill Mr McGrath nor cause him serious harm.

Mr Justice White said the most serious type of harm had been caused in this incident with the tragic loss of Mr McGrath's life, which has caused so much distress to his family.

"It is the culpability and blame attached to Mr Lenihan which the court has to take into account," observed the judge, outlining that the court had taken the independent evidence and married it with Lenihan's evidence.

The judge emphasised there was no doubt that Lenihan was at home in his own property and had gone to bed on the night. The defendant had met Mr McGrath in a hotel premises earlier that evening and bought him a drink, he continued.

Mr McGrath and Lenihan had a long-term friendship and the accused man also had an important friendship with the deceased's wider family, which they feel has now been breached, pointed out the judge.

"They were known to each other, had a friendship and relationship going back, in what has been described as a dysfunctional relationship. It was not a relationship that was good for either of them based on difficulties complicated by alcohol consumption," continued the judge.

Referring to Mr McGrath, the judge said he was homeless and in difficulty on the night as there was no bed available for him at the homeless shelter.

Independent evidence had shown the deceased approaching Lenihan's home close to 4am in the morning, scaling the back wall and coming in the back door, recalled the judge,

There was also evidence that the defendant's brother Thomas, who was not a drinker, was unhappy about Mr McGrath coming to Lenihan's house as he felt the relationship was not good for either of them, said Mr Justice White.

Before delivering the sentence today, the judge highlighted that Lenihan was not a man who went outside his own home with a knife on the night, instead "difficulties" had come to him, which Mr Justice White said the court had to give serious consideration to.

'It breaks my heart to think I have devastated the whole family'

Lenihan's own account of what happened inside his house did not reflect the degree of injuries inflicted on Mr McGrath, continued the judge. Independent evidence had indicated that five stab wounds had been inflicted by Lenihan, one which was consistent with his own account but not the other four, said the judge. The court was satisfied that the fatal wound to Mr McGrath's heart was inflicted when he was facing the defendant, he said.

It was reasonable to accept that Lenihan was in genuine fear on the night, when Mr McGrath "loudly" came to his door, said Mr Justice White, adding that the defendant did not want to let his friend in but relented because of the noise.

Whilst Lenihan had concerns for his safety on the morning, there was no doubt he minimised the degree of excessive force he had used, said the judge.

The single aggravating factor in the case was the degree of excessive force used, particularly the fatal stab wound inflicted on Mr McGrath, he said.

The substantial mitigating factor in sentencing, Mr Justice White said, was Lenihan's genuine remorse which included his letter to the court and to Mr McGrath's family. The defendant wrote an apology to the victim's family saying: "It breaks my heart to think I have devastated the whole family by taking Christopher away."

"He is genuinely appalled at the consequences of his actions and will have to live with that for the rest of his life," continued the judge, adding that the defendant was not prone to violence and had cared for his brother who suffered from schizophrenia. "He was a robust man at the time but now is a much diminished man in terms of his physical capacity," he concluded.

The court heard that among the other mitigating factors taken into account were Lenihan's guilty plea, previous "perfect record", age and ill-health.

The judge said the appropriate headline sentence was seven years but as a result of the substantial mitigating circumstances, he would reduce the headline sentence from seven years to four years.

Lenihan was sentenced to four years imprisonment, backdated to November 1, 2019.

VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT:

At Lenihan's sentence hearing on November 11, Mr McGrath's family wept in court as his sisters remembered how he protected them from their mother as he "took the brunt" of her "fierce temper".

The deceased's sister Jessica McGrath told Mr Justice Michael White that her mother was mentally unstable and "aimed her fierce temper at her children".

She said her brother had taken on the responsibility of parenting from a young age and always looked out for his younger siblings. She added: "As a child and a teenager his job was to protect us."

Ms McGrath said she was traumatised by her brothers death and particularly that it was at the hands of a man who was considered a family friend.

The deceased's sister said she remembered Noel Lenihan coming to the house when she was a child and handing out sweets.

As children they "latched onto any kindness that was shown" and they loved his visits.

Mr McGrath's half-sister Sylvia O'Connor said Lenihan had "built a bond" with her from when she was very young. He taught her to play card games, to draw and colour. As a child she would look forward to his visits every week and in her teens they would meet every Thursday. She said: "He was there for me in hard times. I thought he loved me." She asked: "How could a man I loved like an uncle betray our family?"

Ms O'Connor also remembered her brother looking out for her and protecting her as a child. While he was "damaged" from his own childhood, from "things that shouldn't have happened", he was always trying to better himself, she said. Furthermore, she also remembered him as a "brilliant athlete" who won multiple medals for cross country running.

SENTENCE HEARING:

At this month's sentence hearing on November 11, Detective Inspector Michael Coppinger summarised the facts of the case.

Det Insp Coppinger told prosecuting counsel Conor Devally SC that in 2017 Lenihan, who worked as a martial arts instructor, lived at Mervue in Galway with his brother Thomas.

On March 12 at some time after 4am Galway emergency services received a call in which the accused man said he had stabbed Mr McGrath "in fear" after Mr McGrath came in through the back door of his house and threatened him.

When gardai arrived they found Mr McGrath in Mr Lenihan's home, lying in a pool of blood and showing no signs of life.

Lenihan and his brother had gone to a neighbour's house to get help. When Lenihan spoke to gardai again, the defendant again said he had stabbed Mr McGrath in fear having been awoken in the middle of the night. He produced a steak knife from his pocket which he placed on the ground for gardai.

Piecing together the movements of the accused and deceased prior to the stabbing, gardai found CCTV footage showing Lenihan in a hotel in Galway on the evening of March 12, 2017. Mr McGrath was outside and from the CCTV gardai could see Mr Lenihan may have brought a pint out to Mr McGrath on at least one occasion.

Inspector Coppinger explained that the deceased may, at that time, have been homeless and had a history of difficulties with drugs and alcohol. He said he would sometimes stay at Lenihan's house and the two had previously had an intimate relationship.

After leaving the area near the hotel Mr McGrath was seen on CCTV wandering the streets of Galway City. He tried to get into a homeless shelter but they didn't have a room for him and he was last seen walking in the direction of Lenihan's home. Gardai pieced together evidence showing that Mr McGrath scaled a wall to the back of the house and got in through a back door.

What happened during the fatal stabbing, Inspector Coppinger said, can only be gleaned from what Mr Lenihan told gardai and from the evidence of Acting State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan. Lenihan, the witness said, had told gardai that he awoke to find Mr McGrath had come in through the back door with his top off. He told gardai he was wary of Mr McGrath but also fond of him. Their relationship was volatile, he said.

He described to gardai that Mr McGrath struck him and there was a struggle in which Lenihan lost his footing. He said Mr McGrath got on top of him and put him in a "scarf hold", a judo hold that Lenihan had previously taught him. Lenihan said the deceased told him he was going to choke him and he felt his life was in danger.

In the course of the struggle, Lenihan said he found a knife that had been missing for some months. It was underneath an arm chair. He managed to free himself and said he remembered using the knife in a "get off me" motion while he still had his back to Mr McGrath.

Dr Mulligan's evidence was then shown to Lenihan which indicated that Mr McGrath had suffered five knife wounds, including a fatal wound to the heart that was consistent with a "direct frontal" movement rather than a backwards one.

While Lenihan said he didn't remember inflicting these wounds he accepted the pathologist's evidence and his responsibility. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds that he had acted in self defence but used excessive force. Since being charged in relation to Mr McGrath's death, Inspector Coppinger said Lenihan's mental and physical health had deteriorated.

'Clear (Christopher McGrath) was able to protect his younger siblings and was a comfort to them

Defence counsel Giollaiosa O'Lideadha SC for Lenihan said his client had written an apology to his victim's family. In it he spoke of Mr McGrath's family as being like a second family to him. Lenihan wrote: "It breaks my heart to think I have devastated the whole family by taking Christopher away."

Linehan said he is aware of the damage he has caused to their lives saying: "I live with and will continue to live with the horror of this."

In mitigation, Mr O'Lideadha asked Mr Justice White to consider his client's age, his ill-health, previous good character, and his remorse. He said the penalty should be somewhere in the lower range for such offences.

Mr Justice White explained that he wanted to put Mr McGrath at the centre of the sentence hearing saying: "He had a difficult life growing up but it is quite clear from his sister and his step sister that he was able to protect his younger siblings and was a comfort to them."

He had his own difficulties in later life but was a "very special human being" who took the brunt of the suffering and kept it away from his siblings, Mr Justice White said.