A CO Clare Traveller who killed his brother during a drunken fight in Ennis was jailed for six years by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court yesterday.
Patrick McDonagh, a 28-year-old father of four from Bridge Court, Roslevan, Ennis, was convicted by a jury last month of the manslaughter of his brother, Charlie McDonagh (30), on January 28th, 2007.
Sentencing him, Mr Justice Carney said there was only one other case of fratricide which he had dealt with.
In that case the deceased had previously taken out the eye of the accused, he added.
He had also threatened to take out the accused's other eye. He said the mother had made a moving plea on the basis that she had already lost one son and didn't want to lose another.
The judge said that in that case he had imposed a sentence of four years imprisonment which neither side had appealed.
In this case, he said there was altogether far more gratuitous violence and the effect on the victim merited a sentence of nine years imprisonment. Mr Justice Carney said he took into account the character reference given by Bishop Willie Walsh and the fact that McDonagh was entitled to be treated as if he had pleaded guilty from the start.
Accordingly he sentenced McDonagh to six years imprisonment to date from Monday.
The dead man's widow, Brigid Marie McDonagh, broke down in tears after the sentence was handed down.
During a five day trial the jury was told that Charlie and Patrick McDonagh had been drinking all evening and a row had broken out.
The two men had fought on the street with a knife and an axe and after they were disarmed Patrick had picked up a knife from the ground and stabbed Charlie.
The jury was told Charlie had received 12 stab wounds, the fatal wound being to the front of the trunk just below the ribcage.
Sgt Gearóid O'Sullivan, Ennis Garda station, told the court on Monday that Patrick McDonagh had been injured during the fight and required hospital treatment.
Sgt O'Sullivan said Patrick lived in a caravan at Bishop's Palace in Ennis and had three previous convictions. He agreed with defence counsel Brendan Nix SC, that there was a large amount of liquor involved in "the alcohol fuelled fight".
Mr Nix told Mr Justice Carney that Bishop Walsh, in whose grounds Patrick McDonagh's family is now living, had written a letter in which he said that Patrick is deeply affected by the tragedy.
In her victim impact statement, a tearful Ms Brigid Marie McDonagh said her husband was a hard-working man, a very good father and husband and an honest man.
"He was my best friend and he was my soul mate," she added. She said that his last words to her were: "See you, honey, on Sunday when you come back home."
Ms McDonagh said she was traumatised by his death. "The love of my life is dead. I am left without a husband. My children are left without a daddy. The pain in my heart will never go away.
"When he stabbed my husband to death he stabbed my heart to death," Ms McDonagh said.