A Dublin woman convicted of the manslaughter of her husband has been sentenced to eight years in prison by Mr Justice Carney at the Central Criminal Court.
Last month Dolores O'Neill (51) was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by a majority verdict of 10 to two. She had denied murdering her husband, Declan (46), on or about July 22nd, 2002, at the family home in Coolamber Park, Knocklyon, Dublin.
Before the sentence was delivered yesterday, Mr Justice Carney told the court he had received "three more letters" from an unnamed person regarding the trial. "The second one was written at 2.40 a.m. and showed serious intent to bring the court into contempt."
This person, Mr Justice Carney said, was "blatantly seeking to influence my conduct". This was the "gravest attempt of contempt of court". "For the time being, taking into the account of the age of this party, I am not going to initiate proceedings of contempt of court," Mr Justice Carney said.
Addressing O'Neill, Mr Justice Carney said the case had been particularly difficult "for all the relatives of the deceased man". He said the character of Declan O'Neill had been brought into this case.
It was said in court that he was a "raging alcoholic", but Mr Justice Carney said the toxicology reports were completely negative to drugs or alcohol.
He was "bound by the jury's verdict" of Dolores O'Neill. She was a "person of no previous convictions" and "clearly a good mother and is devoted to her two boys".
The evidence "indicated no resistance on the part of the deceased. It indicated he was asleep or disabled by the first blow. There were no defensive injuries. I am satisfied there was no resistance on his part," Mr Justice Carney said.
"He was hit with 26 blows by a plumber's hammer, then 21 blows of a knife." The hammer was "procured from under the bed".
Mr Justice Carney imposed a sentence of eight years imprisonment dating from the date of conviction.
In her evidence, O'Neill spoke of a painful marriage, with the first outburst of violence from her husband two weeks before their wedding in 1978. She recounted events of his drinking, when he would frequently leave the family short of cash for household expenses.
She told the court about verbal as well as physical abuse. When asked why she had never secured a barring order, she said the stigma attached had prevented her.
"I wanted his best interests, wanted to help him . . . I still loved him. Declan knew I still had feelings for him and he toyed with them," she said.
Her husband had had various affairs and left home throughout their marriage.
O'Neill returned to work after having her first son and a relative provided childcare. Then, she told the court, her husband asked her to quit and so she did. She described how the family's money problems resulted from her husband's drinking.
She recounted the final weeks and hours of her husband's life. She said he had become so violent that she had begun to make up stories to explain her injuries.
Mr O'Neill moved out of the family home a few months before he died but moved back into Coolamber Park on June 24th, 2002.
On the night he died O'Neill said her husband pushed her so the arch of her back was against a table and then, clasping his hand around her throat, forced her head back against the wall behind it. She said she couldn't control her head as he banged it against the wall and she could feel her throat closing in.
She managed to push him off and, as he landed on the bed, she lost her balance. She said: "I just saw the hammer and picked it up . . . Jesus, oh God, Jesus."
O'Neill said she did not remember much about what happened after that. She told Mr Roger Sweetman SC, prosecuting, she could not remember anything about the knife, found at the scene. However, she did not deny using it.