Michael Dermot McArdle has been sentenced to two years in prison for the manslaughter of his wife while on holiday in Marbella in 2000.
Mr McArdle was convicted last week by a jury in Malaga of causing his wife's death during an argument.
He had been tried for causing the death of his wife Kelly-Anne Corcoran during a violent hotel-room argument on the evening of February 11th, 2000, on the first day of a family holiday in Marbella on the Costa del Sol.
The two-year sentence will not be enforced for the moment because Mr McArdle has 10 days in which to appeal.
Court sources said today that if the sentence is confirmed on appeal there is a strong possibility that it may be suspended as Mr McArdle has no previous convictions in Spain.
The judge turned down a prosecution petition for Mr McArdle to be remanded in jail pending appeal or a decision on the suspension of the sentence.
No decision on suspension will be taken until the sentencing is confirmed, which could take as little as 10 days if Mr McArdle does not lodge an appeal. However, if an appeal is lodged the sentence wouldn't be enforced until the appeal is resolved.
Mr McArdle has also today been ordered to pay €100,000 in compensation to his wife's parents and €60,000 each to the couple's two sons.
Following the conviction of Mr McArdle on Tuesday October 7th, several members of the victim's family expressed dissatisfaction that the jury "did not go far enough" in sentencing him.
They were referring to the jury's decision to convict Michael McArdle of manslaughter, as requested by the state prosecutor, and not murder, which would have carried a sentence of at least 14 years as opposed to the maximum of four years applicable for manslaughter.