Three men have been jailed for up to 15 years for the “savage” killing of elderly Sligo farmer Tom Niland. Mr Niland was beaten by the group during a planned burglary at his rural home in January 2022, later dying in hospital. A “treasured member of the community,” he succumbed to his injuries 20 months later, having been placed on life support.
The men received combined sentences of 43 years for manslaughter.
Mr Niland’s family were present in court on Thursday as Mr. Justice Paul McDermott relayed details of the case before sentencing. Earlier this week, the trial heard that the much-loved farmer was left “unrecognisable” to family due to the extent of injuries.
The Central Criminal Court heard on Thursday that Mr Niland’s life “should be defined not by how he died, but how he lived.” The judge reminded those present that Mr Niland was the central person in the case, adding that the pensioner was “warmly remembered” and regarded by those who knew him. This, he said, was made crystal clear by the victim impact statements submitted to the court by family, and from the friends who knew him.
58-year-old Francis Harman, of Nephin Court, Killala Road, Ballina, Co Mayo, and 37-year-old John Clarke, of Carrowkelly, Ballina, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the “kind” and “shy” farmer. A third man, 31-year-old John Irving from Shanwar, Foxford, Co Mayo changed his plea to guilty on the fifth day of his trial.
Mr Harman was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with the last year suspended. John Clarke received a 15 year sentence, with the final 12 months suspended. Mr Irwing was handed a 16 year prison term, suspended for the final year.
The court heard that all three men had a string of previous convictions. Mr Harman, 58, had 27 previous convictions, including 10 for road traffic incidents. Other offences included reckless engagement and threats to kill, and drugs offences in respect to personal use.
The court heard that he had left school at fourteen and had gone on to work on fishing boats, and that there was evidence that he had engaged in hard work. The judge relayed how he ws a single person who resided with his elderly mother.
In respect to Mr Clarke, 37, the court heard that he was a single man with 22 previous convictions, 20 of which were for road traffic matters. The court heard that he suffers from chronic arthritis and had been drinking for various personal reasons on the day of the burglary.
Mr Irving, 31, had some 53 previous convictions, which the judge said dated back to when he was 19 years old, when he had received a suspended sentence. The court heard that the father of three had been involved in a separate attack on an elderly gentleman who woke up to find him and two others breaking into his home. His convictions include drug offences, for which he received a four year sentence in 2018. Justice Paul McDermott acknowledged that his prior crimes had been dealt with “somewhat leniently.”
He said he had considered psychiatric evidence, the fact he has a diagnosis of ADHD, and that he had been suspended from school. Mr Irving began using alcohol and cannabis in his early teens, the court heard, and had a reported history of self-harm, having attended a child psychiatrist in his teenage years. He had been released from prison in October 2021, prior to the assault on Mr Niland.
Mr Justice McDermott paid particular regard to victim impact statements from Mr Niland’s cousins, and said it was very important that the statements were taken into account as they defined the loss inflicted on others and also upon Mr Niland, who lived for 20 months after the ordeal.
In his victim impact statement, Mr Niland’s cousin Sandra Culkin said that her uncle was a devout Catholic who never caused harm to anyone, and would go out of his way to help others. She remembered seeing him suffering for 20 months in hospital, “struggling to breathe, with tears running down his face.”
Another cousin, Michael Kelly, said he did not recognise his cousin in hospital and had walked past his bed. He said his cousin had been “cruelly torn away” from the family.
Justice McDermott said that the assault had caused “constant pain and discomfort” to Mr Niland’s family, and his death was a loss to the local community. He referred to the “very real suffering” that had been endured, recalling how neighbours found Mr Niland after he tried to make his way to their house following the attack. Seeing him the way they did left them traumatised, the judge said, adding: “That’s part of the crime.”
“The loss of his life and the effect of others are central to the case,” the judge said, adding:
“Tom Niland was brutally assaulted in his home on 18th January 2022. He received extensive treatment and care for 18 months but ultimately succumbed to his appalling injuries, and died. He suffered enormously and those who attended him witnessed this and his deterioration.”
“He was unrecognisable to his neighbours and family,” said the judge. He added that at around 7pm on the evening of the attack, Mr Niland “bravely” tried to get into his neighbour’s house to raise the alarm. The neighbour, who was out for a walk at the time, eventually came upon him.
He said the extent of the farmer’s injuries were summarised by Dr Kevin Murphy, a consultant neurologist at Sligo University Hospital who said that Mr Niland developed a neuropathy affecting his arms, legs and eyes, due to the physical trauma he suffered. Having assessed Mr Niland, Dr Murphy indicated that he had delivered a prognosis that Mr Niland was unlikely to ever walk again, saying that the prognosis for using any of his limbs was “poor.” Mr Niland, he said, was left dependent on a ventilator, being fed through a tube, and suffered continuous infections during his time alive in hospital.
“Every effort was taken to help and assist him, but to no avail,” said Justice McDermott.
The judge said that evidence indicated that the three men found guilty came together to plan the robbery, and that they were clearly aware of Mr Niland’s presence and his movements.
“They fully understood he was an elderly man who could be easily overcome. They knew he was living alone,” Justice McDermott said, adding that the men wanted whatever money Mr Niland had and were determined to access it. He relayed how Mr Niland was badly beaten and tied up during the course of the robbery, and ultimately lost his life, having been left with “little to no” quality of life in the aftermath of the assault.
“This was a killing of a savage kind,” the court heard. “An elderly, defenceless man in his own home where he was entitled to feel his most comfortable and secure. “
Justice McDermott said that aggravated features of the offences included evidence of the level of planning undertaken by the men, adding that the sentence had to be within the upper reaches of that provided by the law, which was a 15 to 20 year term.
“The elderly living alone are especially vulnerable. This cowardly attack on his hoe and person must have been terrifying for him,” he said.
Justice McDermott also referred to Mr Niland’s short account of the incident, which was given when he still had consciousness.
“He was brave enough despite his injuries – before he deteriorated – to give his account of what happened. His account has a starkness and simplicity to it. He said he had watched the RTE News at 6pm on rte one.
“I remember the angelus after it,” Mr Niland was reported as saying. “I remember when the weather forecast was over. I heard a knock on the door when I was sitting on my recliner chair.”
In his account read out by the judge, Mr Niland said that when he opened the door to the masked men, all he could see was their eyes.
“Where is the money? We know you have money,” the men were reported as saying before ransacking the house. Mr Niland said he told them that he had no money in the house, but that the men “grabbed and pushed” him, and that he had “grabbed one of them with my right hand.”
“I fell to the ground, I lay in the ground and the three of them kicked me on my head, face and body,” Mr Niland said in the account, adding: “I don’t remember much after that.”
He detailed in his short statement how he had tried to get off the ground when he stumbled out of the house, but failed, because his shoe laces had been tied together by the attackers.
The judge remarked: “He [Tom Niland] put it pithily in his statement: ‘They gave me an awful doing.’ And they did.” At this point, a member of the family sobbed.
The judge extended his sympathies to Tom Niland’s family, while also paying tribute the the “great deal of work” undertaken by Garda during the “difficult” investigation.