Family of West Cork woman murdered by her husband begin civil proceedings against him

Valerie French Kilroy's family is also campaigning to bring in ‘Valerie’s Law’ which would suspend guardianship rights for people convicted of killing their child’s other parent

(Left to right) Veronica French, David French, Hilary French and Kevin Hosford outside the Central Criminal Court on Monday. Valerie 'loved being a mum,' Mr French said. File photo: Collins Courts

The family of a West Cork woman brutally murdered by her husband has initiated civil proceedings against him.

Valerie French Kilroy was 41 when her husband, James Kilroy, slaughtered her at their shared home in Mayo in June 2019. On Monday, Kilroy received the mandatory life sentence after he was found guilty of her murder.

Now her bereaved family has moved to launch civil proceedings against him to try to secure funds for his three young children who have been left motherless. The French family is also now campaigning to change the law in Valerie’s name.

‘Valerie’s Law’, a piece of legislation which Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns has begun work on drafting, would suspend guardianship rights for people convicted of killing their child’s other parent. The new law would take into account the rare situations where domestic abuse victims kill their abusers.

Currently, people who kill their partners or ex-partners fully retain guardianship of any shared children. “This is ultimately about protecting children. And removing the perpetrator's right to make the decisions about the children’s lives," David French said.

International precedents for such a legal change already exist. In May, the UK introduced Jade’s Law to automatically suspend Parental Responsibility rights of a parent guilty of killing the other parent.

The law was called after Jade Ward who was stabbed and strangled in her home in Flintshire by Russel Marsh in 2021 after she ended their relationship as their four children slept in the house. Her parents campaigned to strip him of his parental rights.

Similar laws have also been adopted in Argentina, Israel and Italy.

Five years after his sister’s brutal killing, and after two collapsed trials, the jury’s verdict that Kilroy was guilty of murder was “a massive relief”, Mr French said. Valerie’s body now lies in a grave in West Cork which her family visit frequently.

Kilroy has never apologised or expressed any remorse for his wife’s vicious murder. His name is pointedly written without capital letters across Mr French’s comprehensive website on the family's campaign for Valerie’s Law.

There was no evidence that Kilroy had ever previously attacked Valerie, he said. “In about 10% of domestic homicides, that first attack is the first and last.

“He's threatened, there's an argument and he loses it completely and kills her. What is common [in domestic homicide] is the overkill. Where you don't just kill someone, you absolutely flatten them. Use multiple weapons, cause multiple injuries, many fatal.

And Valerie had more than 50 injuries.

Prosecution barrister Anne-Marie Lawler SC had suggested Kilroy was “something of a waster” in the trial, Mr French said. He had always been “a bit apathetic, not pulling his weight,” he said.

Valerie had been the main breadwinner, working as an occupational therapist, but he also mostly left her to mind the house and the children, he said.

But he would spend money on his own “toys” including guns, bikes, boats, an expensive ride-on mower while Valerie paid entirely for the mortgage, he said.

“It seemed excessive because Valerie didn't have the same level of spending on herself and she was the one that was earning most of the money.

“She’d have loved to have stayed home with the kids on a career break if she could afford it. But she was the main breadwinner. And he had a very chilled-out job and never got any promotions.” 

Valerie “loved being a mum,” Mr French said. “And it didn’t happen by accident, there were rounds of IVF, which is expensive, a sperm donor.

“She put a lot of time and effort into becoming a mum. She was so excited to see them growing up. She felt so lucky to be a mother at all. But she felt particularly lucky to be their mother."