Mother-of-three will be "loved forever and missed daily" as killer jailed for 10 years
A Co Meath man who bludgeoned a mother of three to death at her Cork home on Easter Sunday last year, has been jailed for 10 years at the Central Criminal Court.
Derrick Daly (48), originally of Enfield in Meath, but with an address at St Vincent's Hostel in Cork city, was convicted last June of the manslaughter of Catherine Smart at Bailick Court, Midleton on April 4, 2010.
He had been on trial for the 58-year-old's murder which he denied.
Daly, an alcoholic, first met Mrs Smart when he came to Midleton drinking in pubs. She was separated from her husband, and Daly moved in with her around a year and a half prior to the killing.
On the morning of April 4, 2010, gardaí responding to a phone call from Daly found her face down in the living room of her home. He had said he was locked out of the house and thought there was someone dead inside.
Mrs Smart had suffered several blunt force injuries to her head. Gardaí believed Daly used a bloodstained hurley they found broken in two pieces, and a microwave to inflict the injuries.
He was in an intoxicated state and had been drinking for days prior to the incident. He initially denied he was even in the house, but eventually admitted the killing although he could not recall the events of the night.
In her victim impact statement to the court, Mrs Smart's daughter, Mary Kaey a mother of two, described her as "kind, caring, loving and supportive" and " a great mother and grandmother".
She said her death had had a devastating impact on her family, and it was "increasingly difficult and heartbreaking" to come to terms with.
Mrs Kaey said her children had to watch her fall apart and start drinking, without the support of their grandmother.
She has been prescribed anti-depressants and sleeping tablets, while her children are also unable to sleep and she often finds them in bed crying for their granny.
Mrs Kaey said she and her children would "never enjoy Christmas in the same way again" as her mother had come to Wales every year to spend the holiday with them.
She said her mother would be "loved forever and missed daily" and concluded her statement by writing the "anger and grief will still be as strong in 10 years".
In handing down sentencing, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan said he took into consideration Mrs Kaey's loss and that of her children and siblings.
Referring to Daly's 23 previous convictions, including five for assault, Mr Justice Sheehan said these were "indicative of a propensity to violence" but "clearly not of the same seriousness of this case and do not amount to a loss of mitigation".
He said there were three main mitigating factors for Daly, his plea of guilty to manslaughter at the outset of the trial, his remorse and apology to the family, and the fact that alcohol abuse had had a negative impact on his life.
Mr Justice Sheehan said he was also noting the fact that Daly himself gave evidence at his sentence hearing, the relevant parts of which were his acceptance of responsibility for the killing, and his remorse.
He said the appropriate sentence was 13 years, but he was suspending the final three years having regard to the mitigating factors.
As Daly was led away, Mrs Smart's sister Ann Vaughan, who was present throughout the trial said "how could you do that to my sister?" Daly, who gave no reaction when sentenced, did not reply.
The sentence was backdated to May 2010.
