A 25-year-old man was yesterday given a five-year suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his brother who died trying to prevent the accused from committing suicide when he drove his car off the quayside in Cobh, Co Cork.
Edward O'Mahony, a stonemason from Springfield Park, Cobh, pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing of his brother Patrick at Deepwater Quay, Cobh, on July 7th, 2006, and to drunk driving at Westbourne Place, Cobh, on the same occasion.
Sgt Pat Murphy told Cork Circuit Criminal Court that Eddie O'Mahony was attempting to commit suicide by driving his Ford Focus into the water at Deepwater Quay in Cobh when his older brother Patrick, aged 25 at the time of his death, intervened and begged him to stop.
Patrick hopped into his brother's car and an argument broke out.
Patrick refused to get out and Eddie drove the car off the quay. He managed to escape from the car and was rescued by Navy divers but Patrick O'Mahony died.
Eddie O'Mahony later told gardaí that he had been drinking at a house party the previous evening and into the early hours of the morning.
He was intoxicated and depressed over splitting up with his girlfriend a week earlier and became suicidal, the court heard.
O'Mahony's mother Breda told the court that her son was "a good boy" who didn't intend to kill his brother.
They were very close and the family had forgiven him over the terrible tragedy that had claimed their other son's life.
Supt Pat Sheahan of Cobh testified on behalf of O'Mahony and said that the O'Mahonys were a well-respected family. None of the family had ever been in trouble and everyone in Cobh was terribly saddened to see them suffer "a double tragedy".
Judge Patrick Moran said O'Mahony's actions had caused enormous grief to his family and himself.
He agreed with defence counsel Tim O'Leary SC when he described it as " a tragedy of staggering proportions".
The excessive consumption of alcohol was a major contributory factor in the case and the decision to spend the night drinking and resume again the next morning was irresponsible by O'Mahony and led to "appalling and shocking results", he said.
Judge Moran said he normally held the view that accidents resulting in the loss of life or serious injury arising from driving with excess alcohol merited a custodial sentence but he accepted that this was an exceptional case.
"You yourself have suffered and continue to suffer and your family have suffered and continue to suffer," he told O'Mahony.
Judge Moran said that imposing a custodial sentence would have "a devastating and appalling effect on his family" who were still coming to terms with the loss of his brother while O'Mahony himself still had to come to terms with what he had done.
He sentenced him to five years in prison for the manslaughter but suspended it on condition that he be of good behaviour for two years.
He also disqualified him from driving for a period of 10 years on the charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.