Overview

• Victim impact statements in the Central Criminal Court described Tom Niland’s 20 months of suffering and said relatives did not recognise him after the assault.
• Francis Harman, 58, and John Clarke, 37, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and John Irving, 31, changed his plea to guilty earlier this year.
• Prosecutors cited extensive criminal records—Irving with 57 prior convictions, Clarke with 22, and Harman with 27—in arguing the case is at the highest level of culpability.
• Garda evidence outlined a forced entry on 18 January 2022, repeated punching and kicking while demanding money, theft from Niland’s pocket, and a ransacked home.
• Medical testimony detailed brain bleeding, a fractured eye socket, and multiple rib fractures; Niland was ventilated eight days after the attack and died on 30 September 2023 from complications of blunt force head trauma.