The niece of a 78-year-old Clare widower, who was stamped to death by his own nephew, has described how her family have experienced a raw, pervasive fear "stemming from the chilling reality of evil so close to home".
Niamh Higgins, whose uncle was severely beaten to the point where he was "unrecognisable", told the Central Criminal Court that the "cruel loss" of pensioner John O'Neill to this "heinous murder has plunged us into a whirlwind of raw feelings".
During this Monday's sentencing hearing, she added: "Feelings we find ourselves wholly unprepared for - overwhelming grief, despair, trauma, including a pervasive fear stemming from the chilling reality of evil so close to home".
Ms Higgins said that to think of the injuries "being inflicted by a stranger" would be "horrendous" but knowing it was a family member who carried out the murder is "beyond torture".
The witness, who is the daughter of Mr O'Neill's last remaining sibling Marie Kellett, said the murder of her uncle had left "a hollowness" in their lives "that words struggle to fill" and that the deceased was "more than just a statistic of crime; he was the core of our family, a dear friend and the soul of the community in Lisdoonvarna".
The trial heard that Mr O'Neill had regularly helped another sister, Geraldine, and provided financial assistance if needed when she split up with her husband.
When Geraldine passed away, Mr O'Neill had acted as a guardian for her three children, including Lorigan, who was around 12 or 13 years old at the time.
Sentencing judge Mr Justice Paul McDermott noted that following trials of these kind families get the opportunity through a victim impact statement to express and paint the pictures of persons whose lives have been taken.
The judge said it is very important this happens as when families sit through "the awful details of cases of this kind" they sometimes feel the case "has drifted away from the victim because of the sterile forensic context in which everything has been analysed".
He added: "In essence, these proceedings are all about the deceased at the end of the day. It's very clear in this case and from what I have heard that Mr O'Neill's memory will never be lost and he was a man who had high standing in the community and his family".
The testimony was heard as part of three emotional victim impact statements read to the Central Criminal Court, where 34-year-old Thomas Lorigan was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment for murdering his uncle Mr O'Neill.
The sentence was backdated to January 8 2022, when he went into custody.
Mr Justice McDermott went on to say it is clear that the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment exists "from the nature of the offending in this case and the brutality in the way" Mr O'Neill was killed.
"Anyone who saw the CCTV footage of what was done to Mr O'Neill will not forget it. The circumstances in which a family member was responsible for this where there is no understanding of why it occurred at all, adds to and aggravates the nature of the offending. The shock is felt not only by the family but also by the wider community," added the judge.
During the trial, the court viewed CCTV footage of the attack, where an assailant the jury accepted was Lorigan could be seen delivering measured kicks to Mr O'Neill and stamps to the head and neck. Lorigan was wearing steel-capped boots at the time.
Following the "vicious assault", Mr O'Neill was left on the road outside his house for 40 seconds before being dragged by Lorigan under the archway and into his kitchen.
Earlier this month, Lorigan (34), of no fixed abode, was found guilty by unanimous jury verdict of murdering his 78-year-old uncle Mr O'Neill at St Brendan’s Road, Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare on a date unknown between January 6 and 7, 2022.
He had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The Central Criminal Court trial heard that Lorigan was known by the nickname 'Mossy' in the Clare area and was the deceased's nephew. Mr O'Neill lived alone and previously ran a bed and breakfast at his home along with his wife, who passed away in the summer of 2021.
The jury unanimously agreed with the prosecution case that Lorigan was the man who was caught on CCTV delivering calculated, "well-aimed" kicks as widower Mr O'Neill lay helplessly on the ground outside his home in Lisdoonvarna in Co Clare.
A garda witness told the jury that the pensioner had been severely beaten to the point where he was "unrecognisable".
There was no known motive for the murder but State prosecutors submitted the fact that there was no cash robbery and that family photos were found smashed suggested the killing was "something personal".
