"You don't do that to people. You just don't treat a human being like that. Nobody deserves to be treated like that. To literally stomp a person to death. To stomp your son . . ."
"I can't understand what is wrong with our society. Why that amount of violence has to be used on any human being is beyond me."
Thomas Gallagher's voice trails off as he struggles to put words on his emotions surrounding the death of his eldest son, Francis.
On RTÉ radio following yesterday's verdict he described how, as a parent, he had felt both helpless and scared. "I mean there's so much that can go wrong in a second. One night can change a lifetime," he said.
"I love all my kids. Franny was very special. He was a really special young fella, for this to have happened to him . . . I just can't figure it out. I pray, I believe in God and I pray and look for answers.
"I try not to hate, because I've always believed hatred is a bad thing."
Stephen Kearney knew Francis, having met him a short time before the attack.
"How can you do that to someone you know as a person? How could you do that to a stranger?" he asked.
Earlier, Mr Gallagher had told the court his family had been "through hell" since his son, a talented artist, was killed.
"I have many paintings he did hanging in the hall of my home. The most poignant one of all hangs in my bedroom - a 4ft by 2ft canvas in oils of a racehorse jumping a fence.
"It is so special because Francis never got to finish it. He was killed before he could. In many ways this painting is Francis's life; he was the artist and never got the chance to finish his work."