A separated husband stabbed his wife as she lay in bed, stabbed her again when she tried to escape, and then drove across a field in pursuit of her as she ran to a neighbour's house.
Patrick Kearney, a father-of-five, also stabbed his teenage daughter in the stomach when she was awoken by her mother's screams and tried to pull him away.
He was sentenced to 10 years in jail by the Central Criminal Court yesterday. Mr Justice Carney said it was one of the worst cases of domestic violence imaginable. He refused leave to appeal the severity of the sentence.
Kearney, who was the subject of a barring order at the time of the attack, stabbed his 37-yearold wife, Catriona, at around 8 a.m in Clooneen, Granard, Co Longford on June 30th, 1999.
On October 23rd last, following a judicial review of an initial charge of attempted murder, a plea of guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm was accepted by counsel for the DPP, Mr Eamonn Leahy SC.
The one factor in Kearney's favour, the judge said, was his plea of guilty, "which was a late plea, as far as this court is concerned".