A woman has told how her husband urged her to run for her life with their children as he was attacked by a group of men who taunted him as he lay bleeding in a graveyard in Co Kerry.
Siobhán Dooley said she and her husband, Tom (43), and their four youngest children had travelled from their home in Killarney to attend the funeral of their friend Bridget O’Brien in Tralee when her husband was attacked by a group of men armed with different weapons.
Six men denied the charge that they murdered Tom Dooley, a father of seven, at New Rath Cemetery, Rathass, Tralee on October 5th, 2022 when they were arraigned before the jury panel and Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork.
The accused are Patrick Dooley (36) of Arbutus Grove, Killarney; Daniel Dooley (42) of An Carraigin, Connolly Park, Tralee; Thomas Dooley snr (43), Thomas Dooley jnr (21) and Michael Dooley (29) of Carrigrohane Road, Cork; and a teenager who can’t be named for legal reasons.
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Ms Dooley said her husband and their three young sons were a few steps ahead of her and her young daughter as they entered the cemetery when she saw some men ahead and she recognised Tom’s brother, Patrick and his brother-in-law and cousin Tom (the accused Thomas snr).
Her husband’s brother-in-law Tom (Thomas Dooley snr) was carrying two weapons as he approached her husband.
“I said to my husband ‘Run’ and he turned to me and said ‘Run? Run for what – I have nothing to run for,’” said Ms Dooley.
She said Thomas (Dooley jnr) was standing behind one of her sons and was about to swing a weapon at him, but she pushed her son out of the way and Thomas ended up hitting her and cutting her under the arm.
She said Tom (Dooley snr) and Patrick grabbed her husband by the lapels of his coat while Michael was standing behind her husband and he was also armed with a weapon in his hand as they all began attacking her husband.
All six were around her husband as he lay on the ground and shouted at her to flee with their children, but she saw Tom (Thomas Dooley snr) strike him in the leg with a weapon and he was laughing as he did so, saying “You’re a big man now.”
“My husband turned his head and said ‘Run, just run’; I had to run, I had no choice, I had to get my children away,” said Ms Dooley.
She told how she and her four young children fled the cemetery and across a road busy with traffic to Kellihers Shop and Garage after she saw a Garda jeep parked outside the shop so she knew there would be gardaí either in the vehicle or in the premises.
“I got the children, and we ran into the shop. I started roaring to the guard to get help because they were going to kill my husband,” said Ms Dooley who pointed out all six accused in court when asked to do by prosecution counsel Dean Kelly SC. The case continues.
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