Man Sentenced To 8 Years In Jail For Manslaughter Of Clare Woman

Photo © Clare FM

A man has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for the manslaughter of Deirdre McCarthy in 2011.

Colm Deely of School Road, in Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare was convicted in 2013 for the killing of the 43-year-old.

 

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Ms McCarthy met Colm Deely in a local pub in Ballyvaughan on the evening of the 27th of March 2011.

The court heard they had arranged to meet later at the B&B in which Ms McCarthy was living and working.

She allegedly threatened to reveal the affair they were having to Mr Deely’s wife and kids.

The jury at his trial in 2013 heard she was blackmailing him and threatening to tell his wife and children.

He told Gardaí they were in bed together and he put his hands around her neck because she was laughing at him.

Her body washed up on Fanore beach four days later. A post mortem established she’d been strangled to death.

Mr Deely was convicted of murder in his trial in 2013, but this was overturned on appeal because of an issue with the former state pathologist.

In court today, the judge said that was one of the reasons for the verdict of manslaughter, as no medical evidence could be supplied to prove murder.

He handed down an eight year sentence, saying the fact that Mr Deely had pleaded guilty to manslaughter since the start of proceedings, was a mitigating factor in the sentencing.