A 43-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his only brother “in the most brutal and frightening of circumstances” following a family funeral in Co Kerry.
Last month, a jury convicted Fergus O’Connor of murder, rejecting his claim of self-defence. Monday’s sentence hearing at the Central Criminal Court was told O’Connor had a large number of grievances against his 42-year-old brother Paudie, which ranged from money and land-related matters to “issues of other women”.
The defence told the presiding judge O’Connor does not accept the jury’s verdict, and maintains he was acting in self-defence when he killed his brother Paudie.
Ms Justice Melanie Greally, however, said self-defence had been argued “extensively and vociferously” by defence lawyers at O’Connor’s trial at Limerick Central Criminal Court, but that had been rejected by the panel. She sentenced O’Connor to the mandatory term of life imprisonment for his brother’s murder.
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Paudie O’Connor died from a single stab wound measuring 17cm to the left upper chest, which penetrated the heart, diaphragm and liver. The trial heard the men had attended their cousin’s funeral earlier that day and had been drinking in various pubs around Castleisland in Co Kerry.
The offence was committed shortly after midnight on June 28th, 2024, at the men’s mother’s home at Scartaglen, Castleisland. Their mother, Thecla O’Connor, was seriously ill with cancer at the time and died two months later.
A toxicology report showed the deceased’s level of alcohol was in excess of four or five times the legal limit for driving.
O’Connor told gardaí in his interviews that his brother Paudie went behind his back with “any girl I’d go out with”, that Paudie had tried to open a bank account with his ID and that his brother had given his [Fergus O’Connor’s] name when he was stopped by gardaí, and then laughed in his face. The defendant also told gardaí that, on the night of the funeral, Paudie had made remarks to him about a woman whose company he was in.
In her victim impact statement on Monday, Paudie O’Connor’s partner of nine years, Liz O’Donovan, said “this tragedy” has affected not only her life but those of her children. Ms O’Donovan said Paudie would always be remembered for his “warmth, humour and generous heart”. She said he had left “a lasting mark” on everyone who knew him with his “quick wit and one-liners”.
She said no jail sentence could ever bring him back or take away the pain. “I do hope the court can understand how deeply his death has affected my life and how much he meant to me and everyone who knew and loved him.”
Earlier, the court heard O’Connor, of Scartaglen, Castleisland, has 15 previous convictions, all for road traffic offences, with three for drink-driving.
Handing down sentence, Ms Justice Greally said O’Connor had been found guilty of murder and Paudie O’Connor had died in the most brutal and frightening of circumstances at the hands of his only brother. She said it was clear that Paudie was deeply loved by his partner, friends and family, while his death had left a “teenage son behind without a father”.
Ms Justice Greally extended her condolences to “all those who are left bereft” by the loss of Paudie. She said it would be remiss of her not to point out the role of the neighbours who in “very traumatising circumstances” had made every effort to preserve Paudie’s life, and should be commended.
She said the court had no discretion in the matter and must impose the mandatory term of life imprisonment for murder on O’Connor, backdating it to June 28th, 2024.
