Family of man stamped to death by nephew speak out against 'evil so close to home'

The niece of a 78-year-old widower, who was kicked and stamped to death by his own nephew, has told the Central Criminal Court that her family have experienced a raw, pervasive fear "stemming from the chilling reality of evil so close to home".

The court also heard today that elderly people in the storied festival town of Lisdoonvarna "now have the same fear and suffer the same trauma"; worried that what happened to the victim could happen to them.

Niamh Higgins, whose uncle was severely beaten by Thomas Lorigan (34) to the point where he was "unrecognisable", told the Central Criminal Court today that the "cruel loss" of pensioner John O'Neill to this "heinous murder has plunged us into a whirlwind of raw feelings".

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".

Ms Higgins, 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. His 'gra' for life was infectious". 

"John's great love and sense of caring for all his sisters throughout his life was commendable. He was there for them and their families, regardless of the ask or cost to himself," she added. 

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 his killer Thomas Lorigan, who was around 12 or 13 years old at the time. 

Ms Higgins said the pathology evidence given at trial which detailed "the brutality of the violence inflicted" on her uncle left "an everlasting mark that has intrinsically changed us forever". "The CCTV evidence plays like a constant loop in our minds, capturing the inhumane, cold-hearted attack on John. Fast-forwarding us to a world of nightmares and anguish over the events that took place and why such a tragedy happened to someone so undeserving. Our whole family would like to know why you would do this to John".

"The fact that John was killed in the family home where four generations have happily lived till now, amplifies the impact for us all," she added. 

Sentencing judge Mr Justice Paul McDermott noted today 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 it "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 today 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 his jumper by Lorigan under the archway and into his kitchen. 

Mr Justice McDermott said today he could only express his sympathy to Mr O'Neill's family for the suffering they have endured and continue to endure. 

A second victim impact statement was read to the court by Mr O'Neill's eldest son Sean O'Neill, who said "for all of us, our lives have been changed forever" by the "devastating loss of our dad". "It is impossible to put into words the traumatic, brutal and horrific way in which he died and how hard it has been to comprehend it emotionally and psychologically". 

"Seeing the look of fear in people's eyes and faces at how our dad was killed has been harrowing. We now all double check that our doors are locked, to keep us safe. I know from speaking to locals in Lisdoonvarna, the elderly people in the area have the same fear and suffer the same trauma; worried what happened to our dad could happen to them," he concluded. 

A third statement was read by the deceased's youngest son Graham O'Neill, who said he has read newspaper headlines that say 'Lisdoonvarna pensioner' and that his father would be "going mad over that as he never saw himself as old". Instead, the Clare man said, his father was a fit and active man, who loved company and was rooted in the north Clare community. 

"The thought of someone who would do such a thing ever walking free fills me with the most awful dread. No one in their wildest nightmares would fear his life would end like this. We fear it could happen again, there has been no remorse, no admission, no guilty plea. A sorrow hangs over us, we try to push those awful images from our minds, we fear the day this person walks free," said Mr O'Neill. 

Earlier this month, Lorigan (34), of no fixed abode, was found guilty by unanimous jury verdict of murdering his 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".  

Earlier, Detective Inspector Padraic Frawley told the court that Lorgian has two previous convictions, which include an offence under section 11 (trespass with intent to commit an offence) of the Criminal Justice Public Order Act dating back to 2011 and a drugs offence in 2021, for which he received a fine.

Det Insp Frawley told Eilis Brennan SC, prosecuting, that Lorigan was Mr O'Neill's nephew and the son of Mr O'Neill's sister Geraldine. The detective said that Geraldine died when Lorigan was still a child and Mr O'Neill had acted as a guardian to him and his siblings and had helped out when they were growing up. He said when Lorigan turned 18 years old, they became less close and that the defendant had not attended Mr O'Neill's wife's funeral in 2021. 

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".

The trial heard that gardaí recovered a pair of bloodied boots from a house at Gleann Bhreandain in Lisdoonvarna, where Lorigan had stayed the night before the body was found. Witness Walter Burke had testified that Lorigan left his house at one point on the night of January 6 and returned before midnight, telling him that he had a row with his uncle. The witness said the defendant went to bed but during the night mentioned to him that he felt the row "was more serious than he first told me" and that somebody could be hurt.

A forensic scientist gave evidence that a mixed DNA profile was taken from inside the pair of boots recovered from Gleann Bhreandain. Dr Alan McGee said the boots were heavily stained with Mr O'Neill's blood and that the mixed profile contained Lorigan's DNA.

Pathologist Margaret Bolster described to the trial how she observed the heavily blood-smeared and "flattened" face of the widower lying on his kitchen floor, injuries which she said were "in keeping with multiple kicks, blows and stamping".

Mr O'Neill suffered severe blunt force trauma to the face with multiple fractures to the facial bones and a traumatic brain injury.

Commenting outside court on the life sentence handed down to Lorigan today Ronan Connolly, the family’s solicitor and a friend of Mr O'Neill's, described the victim, known as Jack, as "probably the unofficial king of north Clare and Lisdoonvarna".

Mr Connolly said today marked the end of a terrible ordeal for the O'Neill family. He said they wanted to thank the first responders, the gardaí and detectives who investigated "this horrific crime". 

Mr Connolly said today brought "some form of closure" but "Jack will never be brought back". He said Mr O'Neill's memory would live with them forever.