A 27-year-old Dublin man has been jailed for nine years for killing one of his friends during a drunken New Year's Eve fight.
Karl Breen, Nangor Crescent, Clondalkin, had pleaded not guilty to murdering his friend Martin McLaughlin on January 1st, 2006, but was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury two weeks ago.
Breen had stabbed Mr McLaughlin three times, including one stab which pierced his heart during a row in the Jurys Croke Park Hotel.
He died the following day.
In the Central Criminal Court yesterday, Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins said that although a lot of alcohol had been consumed and no one began the celebrations with an intention of committing a crime, Breen was "not of blameless character".
"A young life is gone and nothing can bring it back. And the devastation caused, and upset and distress caused is palpable, and documented clearly," he said.
He took into account the fact that Breen was 27 and the father of three young children. He also noted he had 18 previous convictions, most of which he didn't feel necessary to take into account because they were for road traffic offences and public disorder.
However, he took into account one further conviction against Breen for cruelty to animals, which related to a dogfight involving pitbull terriers.
He also said that while Breen did eventually hand himself into gardaí on January 3rd, he had left the hotel immediately after the killing and booked himself into different hotels for the following two nights.
In all, he said that the least sentence he could impose was one of nine years. He backdated sentence to October 13th this year and other time spent in custody.
Prosecuting counsel Brendan Grehan SC read out the McLaughlins' victim impact statement on their behalf. In it, the McLaughlin family, parents Martin (snr) and Ann, and sister Sharon, described how they find it impossible to sleep and work since the killing.
They said Martin had celebrated his 21st birthday only weeks before his death and that they have been unable to open many of the presents left for him.
They also revealed that Martin had wanted to follow his father into the digging business, that he had recently bought a digger, and had only just received loan approval to buy a house in Kildare.
His room remains locked and hasn't been opened since his killing, and the family say they wouldn't be able to go on if it weren't for the presence of Martin's nephew in the family home.
"At Christmas time, they set an extra place for Marty and put out a glass of wine for him," Mr Grehan said.
During the trial the court heard that Breen and Mr McLaughlin had been part of a group of five couples celebrating New Year's Eve. They had checked into the Jurys Croke Park Hotel, and drank a lot of alcohol before and after dinner.
Later, they celebrated the countdown in Isaac Butt's nightclub before returning to the hotel at about 1am, where they continued to drink in the residents' bar.
At 4am, some of them went up to Breen's room, which he had booked with his girlfriend, from whom he is now estranged, and ordered a bottle of champagne to the room a short time later. While waiting for the champagne, a row broke out and the fatal injuries were inflicted.