Three men were jailed on Thursday for prison terms between 14 and 15 years for the manslaughter of farmer Tom Niland who died 20 months after being attacked in his west Sligo home.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott, in imposing sentence, said this was a “savage” and planned attack on and elderly and defenceless man in his own home.
Mr Niland was “the most central and important person” in this case and he and his life should not be defined by how he died but how he lived, the judge said.
He was warmly regarded by many people and that was clear from the victim-impact statements of family members and friends, the judge said.
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. He was jailed for 16 years, with the final year suspended.
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.
Both were jailed for 15 years, with the final year suspended on conditions in both cases.
All sentences are backdated to when all three went into custody in March, 2022.
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.
The attackers took his wallet with several hundred euro before leaving in their white Vauxhall van, which was later linked to them following a Garda investigation.
CCTV evidence showed the van near Mr Niland’s home at Doonflin on the main N59 road between Ballisodare and Ballina earlier on January 18th, 2022. The prosecution said this was a “reconnaissance mission” before the van was again seen near there that evening.
After the attack, the men drove to Lough Easkey where they disposed of gloves, Mr Niland’s wallet and other items later located and linked to them.
Mr Niland 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.
All three were originally charged with murder but the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) later reduced that to manslaughter.
On Tuesday, Mr Justice McDermott heard victim-impact statements on behalf of Michael Walsh and his sister Sandra Culkin, first cousins of Mr Niland.
Mr Walsh said he has recurring thoughts 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”. He added that what happened to his cousin “is unbearable to think about and continues to haunt me”.
Ms Culkin said Mr Niland was an integral part of her family and a “treasured member” of the community who was “brutally assaulted in what should have been the safety of his own home”.
The perpetrators of this “cruel and vicious” attack which led to her cousin’s untimely death should receive a sentence which reflects both the magnitude of it and the impact on his family and community, she said.
The judge also heard sentence submissions by Tony McGillicuddy SC on behalf of the three men and the DPP. Counsel for the defendants did not dispute the DPP’s submission that the offence was at the most serious end of the scale, with a headline sentence of 15-20 years.
Counsel for Clarke and Harman asked that account be taken of their apologies, expressions of remorse and early guilty pleas. Counsel for Irving said he too was remorseful and apologised. His client’s long history of ADHD and illegal drug use were factors in his offending.
The court heard Irving has 57 previous convictions, including for burglary and criminal damage relating to incidents over one night in 2013 where three men burgled the homes of two elderly men who lived alone.
Clarke has 22 previous convictions, 20 for road-traffic offences and one for theft. The last was for a drugs offence, for which he was given a four-year sentence.
Harman has 27 previous convictions, mainly for road-traffic offences but also for other offences including burglary.