'The night my dad died is something I will never be able to forget'

Olesja Hertova (pictured) pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of James ‘Shey’ Ryan. Her daughter told the court: 'Me and my mother were close in our own way, and there were good days too. But when she drank, she would sometimes turn into someone I didn’t recognise, angry, unpredictable and hard to reach.'

The teenage daughter whose mother killed her father has told a court she grew up in a house full of “hostility” where she “watched my parents fight constantly”.

Eliska ‘Ellie’ Ryan’s victim impact statement was read out at the sentence hearing of her mother, Olesja Hertova, aged 50, who pleaded guilty to her father’s manslaughter in May.

James ‘Shey’ Ryan, 69, a retired member of the Defence Forces from Hasting Lawns, Balbriggan, Dublin, died in the early hours of Saturday, August 10, 2024, after being pushed to the ground by Hertova.

On Friday, Hertova was jailed for two years and nine months, to be backdated to August 27, 2024.

On Thursday, Judge Martin Nolan heard several victim impact statements read out by Mr Ryan's bereaved family.

Mr Ryan, who had three grown-up children with his now deceased wife, also had one daughter with Hertova, his partner of 17 years.

That daughter, Ellie, now aged 16, submitted a victim impact statement to the court, which was read out by her half-sister Lynn.

Ellie was in court and sobbed throughout the statements read on her behalf, in which she said she and her dad were “inseparable”.

“My dad was more than just a parent to me,” she said. “He was the person who made me feel safe, especially in a home filled with fear, shouting, and unpredictability.

“Growing up, I watched my parents fight constantly. Our house was full of hostility, and I learned from a very young age how to read every noise, every glance, every silence, just so I could be prepared for what might come next.”

She explained how “there were many times I had to physically step in between them, trying to stop the fights, and I would sometimes get hurt in the process.

“With my dad, I felt like I had to protect him just as much as he protected me. He would shield me from my mother, offer me comfort, and do everything he could to make me feel safe.”

Ellie said her father had “one of those rare personalities, generous and always ready to help someone or tell a joke to lift the mood when things felt heavy”.

She described the night of Mr Ryan’s death to gardaí — the teenager was in the house when her father came home from the pub on August 10, 2024.

“The night my dad died is something I will never be able to forget,” she said. “My mother had been drinking at home, and my dad was out in the pub.

“When he came back, they began to argue again like they did so many times before.

“Me and my mother were close in our own way, and there were good days too.

“But when she drank, she would sometimes turn into someone I didn’t recognise — angry, unpredictable, and hard to reach.”

Detective Sergeant Eoin McDonnell, who investigated the case, gave evidence that Mr Ryan had been in the pub earlier on that night and got a taxi home to Balbriggan.

James Ryan passed away around 5.30pm on August 11, 2024.

He described to the court how Ellie told gardaí her mother was at home and had drunk a bottle of vodka that Mr Ryan had bought for her.

The mother and daughter had a barbecue, and Hertova later went to the shop and bought more alcohol.

Ellie said in her victim impact statement that when her father came home, she knew her parents were arguing. She said she “went downstairs hoping I could calm things down but before I had the chance to do anything, I saw him walk out the door.

“In a split second, my mother ran towards him and pushed him. He fell and hit the ground with such force that he lost consciousness immediately. The fall left him with a fractured skull and severe brain injuries he couldn’t survive.”

The court was told Mr Ryan was brought to Beaumont Hospital at 3am on August 10. It was noted he had bruising on his forehead and bleeding from his right ear.

His skull was fractured and there was bruising over the right side temple of his brain.

His level of consciousness deteriorated with the build-up of pressure on his brain and it was the medical team’s intention to conduct a procedure to relieve that pressure.

However, Mr Ryan’s eyes dilated and nothing more could be done medically for him. He received palliative care and passed away at around 5.30pm on August 11.

An autopsy found that while he had pre-existing medical conditions, including Parkinson’s disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, they did not contribute to his death, which was a result of complications arising from blunt force trauma to the head and a fall.

CCTV was played in court, and footage showed Mr Ryan walking to a car parked outside their house.

Hertova could be seen rushing from the house towards him and knocking him to the ground. She returned a few moments later to pick up his glasses and put them on his head.

The court was told that she returned again to comfort him after he could not get up and the emergency services were contacted. His family wept throughout the 45-minute hearing.

Gardaí later searched Hertova’s house and arrested her on August 27, 2024, and she has been in custody ever since.

Olesja Hertova (pictured) sobbed throughout as her daughter gave her victim impact statement on Thursday.

Ellie Ryan’s victim impact statement to the court outlined her trauma from that night.

“I saw the blood on the floor. I saw what it did to him. I watched my dad, my protector, my safe place, slip away right in front of me. His words began to fade, and he started to lose awareness of where he was or what was happening.

“The way he looked up at me, confused, broken, and scared just before the fire brigade arrived is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. All he could say over and over was: ‘Ellie I just want to go home.’

“That moment is burned in me.”

She said she suffers with panic attacks and nightmares and felt hopeless. When she returned to school, she felt that people were “staring at me” because her mother had killed her father.

Sitting just feet away in the dock was her mother, who sobbed throughout the statement.

Dressed in a light green shirt and matching trousers with a full face of make-up, and her blonde hair pinned back, Hertova held her face in her hands crying, while holding the bible.

The court was told Hertova, who is from the Czech Republic, has no support here, and wishes to return home to be with her family.

She has no previous conviction and her defence counsel said she pleaded guilty to the death of her partner and has shown “deep remorse”.

A letter was read out where she apologised for her actions and the hurt she caused.

It said: “I look at my two hands and I just want to cut them off.”

Judge Martin Nolan said he would reserve sentencing in the case until 1pm on Friday.