A pensioner’s “cruel and senseless” death from injuries inflicted by three men in his rural home in Co Sligo has “left a void that can never be filled”, the Central Criminal Court has been told.
In a victim-impact statement, Michael Walsh said he did not recognise his 73-year-old cousin Tom Niland when he saw him in hospital after the assault on January 18th 2022.
Mr Niland’s face, head and neck “were covered in blood and blood was coming out of his eyes”. He was so shocked he could not speak and just held Mr Niland’s hand “to let him know I was there”.
“The recurring thoughts of what happened to Tom on that night, of those three men bursting through his door and the pain of the constant barrage of unrelenting kicks and punches, the fear and terror of losing his life that he must have endured, is unbearable to think about and continues to haunt me.”
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Over the 20 months that followed, he watched his cousin’s deterioration until his death on September 30th, 2023. He was with him when he took his last breath, when “his suffering had finally ended”.
In her victim-impact statement, Sandra Culkin said her cousin Tom was an integral part of her family, an independent man who lived on his own, worked hard and was a “treasured member of the community”.
Her family cried when they saw CCTV footage of Mr Niland buying his last newspaper on the afternoon of January 18th, 2022, before he drove home “towards the nightmarish sequence of events that would unfold ... Tom was brutally assaulted in what should have been the safety of his own home.”
The perpetrators of this “cruel and vicious” attack should receive a sentence which reflects the magnitude of this brutal attack which led to Mr Niland’s untimely death, and the impact on his family and community.
Det Sgt Michael Kelly read both victim impact statements at a sentencing hearing on Monday. Having heard the statements, evidence of the attack and submissions, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said he will impose sentence on Thursday.
Tony McGillicuddy SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the director’s view was that the offence was at the most serious end of the scale, meriting a headline sentence of between 15 and 20 years.
All three men had been charged with murder, but the DPP later reduced that to manslaughter.
John Irving (31), of Shanwar, Foxford, Co Mayo, had, five days into his trial at the Central Criminal Court last July, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Niland. Francis Harman (58) of Nephin Court, Killala Road, Ballina, Co Mayo, and John Clarke (37) of Carrowkelly, Ballina, pleaded guilty to the same offence some months before the trial opened.
The court was told Mr Niland suffered brain injuries, a fracture to his eye socket and multiple rib fractures after the three men broke into his home on January 18th, 2022, and assaulted him. He was later put on life support and died from his injuries on September 30th, 2023. The primary cause of death was complications of blunt force trauma to the head, the court heard.
Mr Niland’s attackers took his wallet with several hundred euros and went to a garage in Ballina, Co Mayo, where they paid for petrol and goods in cash. They had left the same garage hours earlier, unable to pay for fuel for their white Vauxhall van, but Harman, the driver, told the garage owner he would return later to pay the bill.
CCTV evidence showed the van near Mr Niland’s home at Doonflynn, Skreen, on January 18th, 2022, on what the prosecution said was a “reconnaissance mission” before it was again seen near there that same evening. After the attack, the men drove to Lough Easkey, where they disposed of gloves, Mr Niland’s wallet and other items later linked to them.
During Monday’s hearing, the court heard Irving has 57 previous convictions, including for burglary and criminal damage relating to incidents where three men, over one night in 2013, burgled the homes of two elderly men who lived alone.
Patrick Gageby SC, for Irving, said he has a long history of ADHD resulting in substantial difficulties during adolescence and was using illegal drugs from an early age, which led to many of his problems.
Clarke, the judge was told, has 22 previous convictions, of which 20 were for road traffic offences and one for theft. The last was for a drugs offence, for which he got a four-year sentence.
Harman, the court heard, has 27 previous convictions, mainly for road traffic offences but also for other offences including burglary.
All three defendants were separately represented, and their counsel said each expressed remorse for their actions and apologised to Mr Niland’s family. Counsel for Clarke and Harman asked the judge to take into account their early pleas of guilty.
