'Evil, sadistic' man left woman paralysed in attempted murder

Dean McCarthy told Sinead Connolly he would 'leave her in a body bag'

Victim Sinead Connolly (in wheelchair) leaving the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Friday afternoon after giving a victim impact statement. Picture: Collins Courts

A mother of one has described the moment her "evil, sadistic" neighbour, a man she has known since childhood, left her permanently paralysed in an attempted gun murder that "obliterated" her life.

The Central Criminal Court heard during Friday's sentence hearing that 33-year-old Dean McCarthy "burst into" Sinead Connolly's (34) home with a gun "in a rush of adrenaline" and repeatedly shot her while her eight-year-old daughter hid under the kitchen table.