Man who killed mother may be released by September despite safety concerns

A man who killed his mother a decade ago and is regarded as one of the most dangerous prisoners in the State may be released by September.

Celyn Eadon (29) repeatedly asked the judge “what’s my release date?” as he was sentenced to 16 years on Monday.

The judge backdated the sentence to March 2011 when Eadon first went into custody immediately after killing his mother in a frenzied knife attack at their Mayo home.

Sentencing judge Mr Justice Michael White said Eadon "remains at risk of inflicting violence on the public" and his violent temperament is an "alarming factor".

Man shot last year in north Dublin dies in hospital

---

Man (20s) in critical condition after shooting in north Belfast

---

Man (30s) charged after €250,000 worth of cannabis plants seized

---

Dozens face prosecution after gardaí raid party flouting Covid rules

---

Eadon was first convicted of murdering his mother in 2014 after she had burned his drugs. He received the mandatory life sentence.

His conviction was later overturned by the Supreme Court, and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) subsequently accepted a plea to the reduced charge of manslaughter on the basis Eadon was intoxicated at the time of the murder.

Mr Justice White suspended the final two years of the manslaughter sentence, meaning that – with the standard 25 per cent remission – Eadon has a nominal release date of September 11th, 2021.

However, he may have to stay in prison longer depending on the result of various disciplinary measures he has been subject to while in prison.

Eadon has committed about 15 assaults while in prison, including about 10 attacks on prison officers. This has led to numerous disciplinary hearings, the results of which are not made public.

Punishments

The typical punishments resulting from such hearings are loss of privileges, although governors can also remove a maximum of 14 days from a offender’s remission period.

It is understood the prison authorities have not yet calculated Eadon’s final release date.

Eadon's frequent attacks on prison officers led to him being labelled as an extremely high-risk prisoner and being moved to the violence reduction unit in the Midlands Prison, a specialist unit designed to securely house the nine most violent prisoners in the system.

His outbursts have also extended to the courtroom. At a recent hearing, which Eadon attended from prison via video link, he abused the prosecution barrister, calling him an “f**ing annoying b**tard” and a “f***ing a**hole”. This led to the judge ordering the video link to be shut off temporarily.

Eadon’s attacks on prison officers were also prosecuted in the courts and resulted in prison sentences ranging from four months to 2½ years.

However, as he was serving a life sentence at the time, these sentences were largely academic. Legal precedent means additional prison terms cannot be added to a life term.

Both the prosecution and defence have expressed concern about where Eadon will live on his release. The Probation Service previously said it was unable to provide the type of high-support accommodation he needed.

Brain injury

Defence counsel Patrick Gageby SC had submitted that it was “utterly apparent” that Eadon had acquired a brain injury from his consumption of drugs as a juvenile and it was unfortunate that this matter was “not more readily publicised”. He said that “gross intoxication” was not an excuse for his client’s actions but it had deprived him of an intention to kill and cause serious injury to his mother.

At the sentence hearing, Seamus Clarke SC, on behalf of the DPP, read out a victim impact statement prepared by Mark Eadon, the deceased’s former husband and Eadon’s father.

He said that his wife had lost her life trying to protect her child.

“I do not blame Celyn for what happened anymore,” he said. “I’m sure, had she survived, she would have forgiven him.”

Mr Justice White said it was essential that the defendant be supervised and placed in high support accommodation upon his release from prison.