A YOUNG MAN who was found guilty of the murder of a Kerry father-of-seven, who was viciously attacked by a group of men in a cemetery in front of his wife and young children, has been jailed for eight years.

Five men were jailed for life in July of last year for the murder of Thomas Dooley (43) from Ballyspillane in Killarney.

He was killed whilst attending a burial at a cemetery of a local woman with his wife Siobhan and their young children. The men were armed with bladed weapons when they went to Rath cemetery in Tralee on 5 October 2022.

The now 19-year-old man was among the men involved in the attack. He was 17 years old at the time of the offence.

The youth, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of murder. Sentencing in his case was adjourned until today.

The five men who last year received the mandatory life sentence last year were the dead man’s 36-year-old brother, Patrick Dooley, of Arbutus Grove, Killarney, Co Kerry; his brother-in-law and cousin 43-year-old Thomas Dooley Snr and his cousin, 21-year-old Thomas Dooley Junior, both of the Halting Site, Carrigrohane Road, Cork and his 42-year-old cousin Daniel Dooley, of An Carraigin, Connolly Park, Tralee, Co Kerry.

The nineteen year old is the first person to be sentenced for murder since the recent change in the law in relation to juveniles and life sentences. A child who commits murder but turns 18 before sentencing no longer faces a mandatory life sentence under legislation approved by Cabinet last year.

At a sentencing hearing in the Central Criminal Court in Cork today, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring said that the youth was at the “higher end of childhood” when the “pre-planned” murder occurred.

She said that the murder was, in all likelihood, planned by “older persons” and there was a level of “empathy” in the youth which was not present in the other co accused.

The youth wrote a letter of apology to the Dooley family and expressed remorse for his actions.

The judge said that whilst the offence was extremely grave, a life sentence was not appropriate in this instance. Ms Justice Ring stated that whilst the accused couldn’t be given the benefit of having pleaded guilty he had taken responsibility for his actions.

She said the fact the murder took place in broad daylight and hadn’t occurred from “Dutch courage” after a day of heavy drinking, was an aggravating factor in the case. She said that Mr Dooley’s grandchildren would only know him through “pictures and trips to the graveside.”

Courthouse in Cork where today's sitting took place. Alamy (file) Alamy (file)

Ms Justice Ring described the Dooley children as being a “credit” to Siobhán and her late husband whilst wishing her and her family “all the best” in life. Ms Justice Ring said that the youth was doing well in custody and plans to complete his junior certificate.

She jailed him for eleven years,with the last three years suspended. The teenager has been ordered to not have contact of any type with the Dooley family following his release from prison.

He is bound to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for a period of three years following his release from custody.

He also has to follow all the directions of the probation service and undertake victim awareness courses upon his release from custody.

Defence barrister Jane Hyland, SC, previously said that her client was of a lower culpability in the case as compared to his other co-accused who were older men. She said that her client was armed with a baseball bat at the cemetery and was of “medium culpability” in relation to what had occurred.

The young man wrote a letter of apology for his behaviour. He said that he was “genuinely sorry” and wished he could “turn back time.” A victim impact statement was previously read into evidence.

Siobhán Dooley said that her husband died in a “horror show” attack. She said her life was turned upside down when her husband was stolen from his family in a barbaric attack.

“What me and my four children witnessed in the graveyard that day will never leave us.

“The horror (the children) witnessed that day no child should ever see. I will never understand why Thomas was murdered in the most horrible way. He (Thomas) told me to run so I could be saved.

“I want my children to be able to be children. I made a promise to Thomas the day we put him in the ground that we would get justice for him and we did. I am blessed to have my babies and my grand babies and we will always keep his memory alive.”

Mrs Dooley said that Thomas was a ‘doting’ father who cried when he walked two of their eldest daughters down the aisle at their weddings. She added that when Thomas became a grandfather his life was complete.

However, he joked that he was a little young for the role.

“His children always came first. He was 100 percent a family man and a doting father. The children always had him wrapped around their fingers. His grandchildren took over his life.

“It is fair to say he nearly favoured the grandchildren over his own children. He was just so proud and honoured to be a granddad. “

The court heard that Mrs Dooley also sustained injuries in the attack. She received a foot-long wound to her shoulder which required 45 stitches and 30 surgical staples.

A postmortem examination revealed that Mr Dooley received two stab wounds, one chop wound to the right arm which was over 25 centimetres in length and an incised wound to the right thigh. He also had blunt force injuries and bruising.