Family says Clodagh Hawe and her three sons ‘savagely and brutally killed’

The mother and sister of Clodagh Hawe, who was murdered with her three children by her husband Alan Hawe, have described the "savage" killings as "executions".

Mary Coll and Jacqueline Connolly also said they were aware that Alan Hawe, who described himself as a “pillar of the community” had been about to suffer a fall from that position.

They also said his marriage was breaking up in August, 2016, when he killed his family at their Co Cavan home and then took his own life.

At the end of a two-day inquest, before coroner Dr Mary Flanagan at Cavan Coroners Court, the jury returned verdicts of unlawful killings in relation to the deaths of Clodagh and sons Liam (13), Niall (11) and Ryan (6).

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They also concluded Alan Hawe died by suicide.

Expert psychiatric evidence was heard suggesting Alan Hawe had suffered from depressive and later psychotic symptoms. The inquest was also told he was in conflict with a colleague, though this was not expanded upon.

The jury asked that issues around mental health be raised in Irish workplaces. However, Clodagh Hawe’s mother and sister said while psychiatric consultant Prof Harry Kennedy had outlined a mental deterioration in Alan Hawe, they noted his GP gave evidence that he had never presented for any such problems.

They also said Alan Hawe had referred to himself in a counselling session with a therapist in the months before he killed his family as a “pillar of the community”.

Suffer a fall

But they knew of a situation that was about to result in his fall from that position in society. And they also said his marriage was breaking up at the time.

“On August 29th, 2016, we lost our daughter and sister Clodagh and her lovely sons Liam, Niall and Ryan in the most horrific circumstances,” a statement issued after the inquest on behalf of Clodagh Hawe’s mother Mary Coll and her sister Jacqueline Connolly said

“They were savagely and brutally killed by Alan Hawe in a premeditated and calculated manner.

“We are aware that the inquest has a limited role in law, in that its function is restricted to establishing how, when and where our loved ones died.

“However, it is clear from the evidence presented in the inquest that Clodagh and her boys were killed in a sequence that ensured that the eldest, and most likely to provide effective resistance were killed first.

“And that they were executed in a manner that rendered them unable to cry out for help.

“The inquest does not address why Alan Hawe committed this savagery. But his counsellor has said that he was concerned about his position as a pillar of the community.

“And we are aware that he was concerned about his imminent fall from that position and the break-down of his marriage.

“While the psychiatrist has attempted, as best he could, to create a retrospective diagnosis based on notes and records, his GP who knew him for five years said he never displayed any signs of depression.”

Thanked

The family also thanked the young gardaí who responded on the day in question and found the family dead in their home. They also thanked the investigating gardaí and friends and neighbours from Virginia in Co Cavan.

They were also grateful to the support of colleagues, including colleagues in the Co Meath school where Clodagh worked.

And they extended their thoughts to the friends of the three murdered boys and their parents.

The family concluded by asking the media “and people generally” to respect their privacy and allow them grieve with dignity.

Coroner Dr Mary Flanagan said Clodagh died as a result of “axe and penetrating wounds to the neck head and neck. Liam and Niall both died of a “stab wound to the neck”. The eldest boy, Liam, died from a “deep incised wound to the neck”.

During the inquest Prof Kennedy was asked to review all available documents by the coroner and performed a psychiatric postmortem.

Prof Kennedy viewed notes generated during GP visits by Alan Hawe, 10 counselling sessions in 2016 and also suicide notes left at the family home at Oakdene Downs in the townland of Barconey near Ballyjamesduff.

He concluded Alan Hawe developed depressive symptoms that manifested in being overly worried at minor physical ailments.

‘Psychotic’ symptoms

He believed this began in 2008 and developed until the 40-year-old school teacher experienced “psychotic” symptoms by the time he killed his family.

These would normally take the form of an imagined impeding catastrophe from which he would not recover.

His GP, Dr Paula McKevitt said Alan Hawe had presented to her two months before the killings and made reference to a conflict with a colleague at work.

He said he was focussed on “getting through” the remainder of the school term before he could go on holidays to Italy with his family.

Alan Hawe last saw both his GP and counsellor on June 21st, 2016. He had not informed his GP he was seeing a counsellor. However, he disclosed he had been treating a minor toe condition by bleaching the soles of his feet.

Prof Kennedy said none of the people Alan Hawe had come into contact with had the benefit of hindsight, as he now had.

And none of them was able to view all the parts of Alan Hawe’s mental state and draw them together; including his suicide notes and the knowledge had had killed his family.

He did not feel it was unusual that somebody suffering mentally to the extent they “blew everything out of all promotion” and ruminated on things would go badly in their lives, to live a life that was apparently normal and untroubled to the outside world.

He added that medical professionals were largely dependent on their patients communicating clearly and honestly with them in order for problems to be identified.

The solicitor who represented Mary Coll said later she and her family are glad the “ordeal of the inquest is over”. Liam Keane said it was an extremely difficult process to go through they were aware it had to be done.

Speaking on Drivetime on RTÉ Radio One on Tuesday evening, he said Ms Coll and Clodagh’s sister Jacqueline were people of extraordinary dignity and “they certainly have reserves of fortitude that one would have to admire.

“It is a terrible ordeal that they had to go through but they were aware that it had to be done and that it was a process that had to be gone through and they are glad that it’s over”. He said one could only imagine the horror Mary Coll was faced with when she found a note on the back door of the Hawe family home on the morning her daugher and her family were found dead. The note said not to enter but to call gardaí.

He said “it was clear from the inquest” that Alan Hawe had explained to his counsellor “that his position as a pillar of the community was under threat”. Mr Keane said the Coll family would have been aware of this and that Alan Hawe believed his marriage was at the point of breakdown. He said Ms Coll would have known that her daughter was “in some difficulty”.

He added that Ms Coll “would, in time, hope to address issues in a personal way” which may help to prevent what happened to her daughter and her grandsons from happening again in this country.

“Nobody could have perceived anything like what happened could happen ... professionals, doctors and guards often deal with situations akin to this but not as horrific perhaps ... Anybody listening to what transpired at the inquest could not but be moved by the horror of the evidence and how the boys and Clodagh were killed.

“Your heart would go out to the guards that arrived out on the scene who were faced with a most horrific scene,” he said.

When asked if Alan Hawe’s mental illness would explain his actions, Mr Keane said “Not really. An inquest examines the how, where and when of the death but not the why. It’s not the role of the inquest to stray into that territory,” he said. “In truth, I don’t thing anything can explain how a father can do that to his wife and children,” he added.