Single mother 'goaded' man online to attack family home

Judge said there is no suggestion woman was instrumental in causing the attack — but her social media messages had made the attack more likely by encouraging it

Judge Francis Comerford at Ennis Circuit Court imposed a 15-month suspended prison term for aiding and abetting the attack. Picture: Dan Linehan

A single mother who “goaded” a man via social media to carry out an attack on a family home has avoided jail.

Judge Francis Comerford at Ennis Circuit Court imposed a 15 month suspended prison term on Suellen Keenan, aged 33, of Ardarra, Portroe, Co Tipperary, for aiding and abetting the crime of endangerment of the O’Loughlin home at 25 Pearse Avenue, Cloughleigh, Ennis just after midnight on November 22nd 2021.

Last week, Judge Comerford jailed Martin Mongans, 35, of College Grove, Ennis for four years and 10 months for the firebomb and shotgun attack “on a house full of children”.

Judge Comerford said that no one suffered any physical injuries from the attack but the attack “did put eight children at risk”.

In evidence, Det Sgt Casey told the sentencing hearing that the ages of the O’Loughlin children at the time were 11, nine, seven, six, five, three and one baby while a 17-year-old younger brother of John O’Loughlin was also in the house at the time.

Asked the connection between Mongans and Keenan, Det Sgt Casey told the court the two are “brother in law/sister in law and they have a child together also”.

Judge Comerford said Keenan “had encouraged Mr Mongans to carry out this attack”.

She knew that Martin Mongans intended to carry out a violent attack and knew that a gun was going to be involved and to be well out of the ordinary.

Judge Comerford said an examination of WhatsApp messages between the two showed Keenan encouraged him to carry out the attack and praised him for doing this.

He said that there is no suggestion Keenan was instrumental in causing the attack to occur but her texts to Mongans made the attack more likely by encouraging it.

Judge Comerford said that he was satisfied Keenan was at her home in Co Tipperary at the time of the attack and was not not a primary participant in the crime.

The judge said Keenan had engaged in “criminal but foolish encouragement of Martin Mongans”.

Judge Comerford said Keenan had goaded someone else to commit a crime via social media.

Keenan is a single mother of two children and was married at age 16 and married again at the age of 19.

Judge Comerford said Keenan lives an isolated existence and the WhatsApp messages show there was a degree of psychological dependence from Keenan on Mongans.

Judge Comerford said that he gave credit to Keenan for her guilty plea and that she has no previous convictions.

At the sentencing hearing asked what was the background to the dispute by Lorcan Connolly, prosecuting, Det Casey said that Mongans encountered Mr O’Loughlin’s wife, Kelly-Anne in Ennis town centre and she didn’t like the way he looked at her and Mr O’Loughlin made a phone call to Mongans to remonstrate about that.