THE 18-year-old man who fatally stabbed another teenager at Waterloo Road in Dublin last year has been jailed for 10 years by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court.
Finn Colclough, of Waterloo Road, Dublin, denied murdering 18-year-old Seán Nolan at Waterloo Road in the early hours of May 26th, 2007, and a jury convicted him of manslaughter following a six-day trial in October.
Mr Justice Carney said Colclough equipped himself with knives and sought a confrontation. The judge said that that action was "so gratuitous in the circumstances" as to merit a sentence of 10 years to date from the date of conviction.
The court heard that Colclough and Mr Nolan had been out at separate celebrations on the night of the killing. Colclough was later at home and went for a walk in the early hours with friends. They met Mr Nolan and his friends who were looking for directions to a party.
Colclough returned home and became agitated that the others were not moving away from his house. He armed himself with two knives and went outside shouting at them to leave. Mr Nolan stood up to him and was fatally stabbed.
Outside court the deceased's father, Michael Nolan, said Colclough had "brutally" taken Seán's life. He said he did not accept the jury's verdict of manslaughter and believed his son had been murdered. He said that given the epidemic of knife crimes, those responsible should be held fully accountable for their actions.
Defence counsel Patrick Gageby SC, said his client had offered a plea of guilty to manslaughter during the summer but it had been rejected by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Charlotte Nolan, the mother of the victim, read a statement to the court in which she described the devastation felt by her family. She said her son had been a happy, handsome, athletic and extremely popular boy and that no words could describe the pain of his loss.
During the trial, the jury heard Mr Nolan was celebrating the completion of his secondary education at St Joseph's CBS in Fairview. Mr Nolan met two friends in town and they went to a couple of bars before Mr Nolan suggested they go to the house of a girl he knew who lived in the Waterloo Road area. It was now after 3am. On the way they stopped at a petrol station and bought a bottle of wine.
The then 17-year-old Colclough had finished his school term at the Institute of Education near St Stephen's Green and he attended a 21st birthday party at Spy Nightclub in town where he was drinking alcohol.
Colclough and his friends went back to Waterloo Road, his parents went to bed and his brother went to his room with some friends. Colclough and two friends stayed in the downstairs kitchen for a couple of hours. At some point Colclough smoked a joint.
He then went for a walk with his friends shortly before 4am. Near the house they met Mr. Nolan and his friends who asked for directions. A conversation took place and Colclough and his friends went back to his house.
Mr Nolan and his friends remained outside Colclough's house. They were trying to open the bottle of wine and gestured towards the house. Colclough became agitated and took two knives from his kitchen and went outside screaming and shouting for them to leave.
As Colclough brandished the knives Mr Nolan approached him. They pushed and shoved and Mr Nolan hit Colclough. As Colclough pushed Mr Nolan he stabbed him in two places causing him to step back and collapse.
Mr Nolan suffered a minor wound to his left armpit and a fatal, 17cm deep, wound to his chest. He was pronounced dead at 4.40am in Saint Vincent's hospital.
Colclough went back into his house where he washed the blood from his hands and the knives. When gardaí arrived he said, "it was me". When arrested he said, "he hit me, he would not get out of the garden, I'm only 17".
Mr Gageby said his client was "full of remorse" and had always indicated that he had not intended to kill Mr Nolan. Mr Gageby said there had been a suggestion that Colclough and his friends had felt some level of intimidation following the first conversation in relation to directions. He said Colclough had waved the knives in full view and exhibited signs of distress.
Dr Paul O'Connell, a consultant psychiatrist at the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum, said Colclough suffered from dyslexia and had been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder between the ages of nine and 10.
He said Colclough had been treated with anti-depressant medication from the time of his diagnosis but was not medicated at the time of the killing. Dr. O'Connell recently examined Colclough in Cloverhill Prison. He was housed on a wing for those regarded as vulnerable. Dr O'Connell said Colclough had lost weight and was not sleeping well. He expressed sadness and regret for what had happened and was showing symptoms of depression. Dr O'Connell said he judged Colclough to be at low risk of reoffending.
A family friend of Colclough's, Puffin Moynihan, told the court that he was a good-natured boy and his actions were completely out of character. She said his whole demeanour had changed and he had not had a day of happiness or peace since the killing.
A letter Colclough wrote to his solicitor in the days following the incident was read out by his mother, Alice. In it he said he was too frightened and ashamed to contact the Nolan family. He said he knew he had devastated them but wanted them to know he was sorry.
Ms Colclough expressed her condolences and sympathy to the Nolans.