Two Claremen get eight years for Ennis manslaughter
Two Co Clare cousins who beat a man to death in Ennis last year have been sentenced to eight years each at the Central Criminal Court.
26-year-old Michael Nihill of Church Drive, Clarecastle, Co Clare, and 30-year-old Joseph O'Halloran, also of Clarecastle, but with an address in London, had pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Michael Shannon (34) on April 2, 2000.
Both men were cleared of murdering Mr Shannon during the trial last month.
The court was told that the pair chased him down a laneway in the centre of the town, before punching and kicking him as he lay on the ground.
They stopped when they saw blood coming from his nose and waited for another woman to call an ambulance, before going on to a Mother's Day dinner with both their families.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Smith said he could not ignore the fact that O'Halloran had two previous assault convictions and that Nihill had re-offended while bound to the peace.
He also considered a letter from Mr Shannon's mother and twin brother, who said the pair had not apologised immediately after the killing.
He refused applications to appeal the severity of the sentence, which was backdated to the date of the offence, when both men were taken into custody.
