'Savage' killers of OAP get 43 years

Combined total for trio who attacked Tom

- BY EOIN REYNOLDS

THREE men who targeted and “brutally” assaulted pensioner Tom Niland in his own home have been sentenced to a combined 43 years in prison for his killing.

Sentencing them yesterday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the victim was a kind man who was entitled to feel comfortable and secure in his own home.

The judge described the unlawful killing as “savage” and he noted that the killers had carried out reconnaissance on Mr Niland and targeted him because he lived alone and, as a man in his 70s, they “fully understood” that he could be easily overcome.

John Irving, 31, of Shanwar, Foxford, Co Mayo; Francis Harman, 58, of Nephin Court, Killala Road, Ballina Co Mayo and 37-year-old John Clarke, of Carrowkelly, Ballina, all pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier this year.

They attacked Mr Niland at his home at Doonflynn, Skryne, Co Sligo, on January 18, 2022 and took his wallet, containing about €800.

After the assault, the three men drove to a wilderness area where they disposed of the wallet and gloves containing DNA evidence that later linked them to the crime.