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Twin brothers, Sean and Eric Farrell (21) of Castle Park, Tallaght, Dublin 24, have been jailed for six years each for the manslaughter of their mother’s abusive partner, Ionel Nicolae Diaconu, in December 2023.
Mr Justice Tony Hunt noted the violence inflicted on the victim, and that a blade and hammer had been used to inflict the fatal injuries.
The 45-year-old man was stabbed eight times in the chest, neck, thighs and legs and died at the scene with the court hearing that Eric Farrell had dialled 999, followed instructions to administer CPR, and had expressed shock and remorse at the scene.
Justice Hunt said that CCTV from earlier that day showed the accused men and the victim buying food, alcohol, and cigarettes and that “everything was amicable” between them at that stage.
He said that the footage contained, “Nothing to suggest what happens next was a feature of anyone’s contemplation”, and that the circumstances leading to Mr Diaconu had “flared up to a very significant extent”.
After the incident, Eric Farrell told Gardaí, “I done it, I f**king done it, I ruined it for both of us,” he told the garda who arrived at the scene that night.
“I don’t know how many times I stabbed him, I just done it. Is he ok? Is he going to be alright? Some Christmas this is going to be.”
He said that the deceased man had picked up a hammer and that he believed that Diaconu intended to strike his brother with it.
The court said that a headline sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment was appropriate for both accused, as the crime was a “joint enterprise”.
“I don’t see any practical basis to differentiate,” he said, adding that it was “fair that both are dealt with on the same basis”, taking into consideration the “level of violence, number of wounds, and use of weapons.”
The court took into consideration in mitigation the brothers’ previously unblemished records, their good history of work and their “pro-social” living.
Justice Hunt noted that both were aged 19 at the time and that Probation Service supervision had not seen a need for particular ongoing engagement with the twins.
The court reduced the headline sentence of 10 years to 7 years and six months for both, before a further reduction of 18 months, leaving effective sentences of six years for both men.
In order to avail of the final reduction of 18 months, the twins were asked to enter into a “lifetime” bond to refrain from committing any indictable offences.
The court said that because the maximum sentence for manslaughter amounted to a life in prison, the court had liberty to impose such an “effectively permanent condition of good behaviour, carving out minor transgressions.”
Justice Hunt expressed “Great sympathy for the deceased” and “a good degree of sympathy, although to a lesser extent” for the Farrell Twins, who he remarked had good prospects for their lives after the completion of their sentences.
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