Kerry murder-suicide victims' family reiterates call for checks on firearm holders

The call was made after the inquest into the deaths of Eileen, Jamie, and Morris O'Sullivan

Solicitor John Cashel with Mary O'Sullivan and her daughter Catherine Houlihan issuing a statement after the inquest into the 2021 deaths of Eileen, Jamie, and Morris O'Sullivan. Picture: Noel Sweeney

The family of a woman and her son who were shot by her partner in Lixnaw, Co Kerry, in 2021, have reiterated their call for gardaí to check that licensed firearms holders still need their weapons.

Mary O’Sullivan said in a statement read out by her solicitor John Cashel that she believes there needs to be changes to the licensing system.

These changes should, she said, “include additional checks on the licence holder to ensure the firearm is still needed for the purpose it was originally granted and mental health”.

The statement, issued on her and her daughter Catherine Houlihan's behalf, was read out after the inquest into her sister Eileen’s death, which was ruled as an unlawful killing.

The same verdict was given at the North Kerry Coroner’s Court sitting in Listowel on Eileen's son Jamie.

The bodies of Eileen O’Sullivan, 56, and Jamie O’Sullivan, 24, were found at their home in Lixnaw on September 7, 2021, by neighbours.

They were found in bedrooms and both bodies had suffered gunshot wounds, with one of the wounds sustained by Eileen judged at post-mortem examination to have been caused by her trying to defend herself before she died.

A follow-up search by gardaí led to the discovery of the body of Morris 'Mossie' O’Sullivan face down on the ground at a shed near the boundary of the rear yard.

The former mechanic and bus driver, who farmed on a smallholding of about 20 acres, had sustained self-inflicted gunshot wounds, and a firearm was recovered near his body.

The verdict in his case was suicide, said Coroner Helen Lucey.

All three died as a result of shotgun wounds.

The inquest heard the part-time sheep farmer was ‘not himself’ just hours before he is alleged to have shot his partner and son.

Maurice McCarthy, a local farmer and lifelong friend, said he last spoke to Mr O’Sullivan, 63, at 9pm on September 6.

They spoke over the phone for 10 minutes but, according to his statement read out at the court by Inspector Tim O'Keeffe: “He was a small bit off. He was not himself. He was in an awful hurry to get off the phone.” 

Ms O’Sullivan said there is also a need for “welfare checks to support crisis intervention” and “rural community-based mental health support" similar to that provided in schools by the National Educational Psychological Service.

She said that she had made these points during a meeting with Justice Minister Simon Harris on May 15, in advance of the release of the long-awaited study of familicide.

“We know we're not the only ones that greatly feel their loss," she said.

“Eileen and Jamie were much loved, kind, and genuine individuals who are missed every second of the day.

“We look forward to the Government taking steps in implementing the findings of the familicide review and the firearms licensing reforms as we have been reassured this will be the case.”