The Mick Clifford Podcast: Clodagh Hawe's sister on why investigation into murder suicide should be published
In 2016 Alan Hawe murdered his wife Clodagh and their three children.
The subsequent garda investigation was found to be deficient in a number of respects.
Clodagh's sister Jacqueline and their mother Mary pushed for a proper investigation. That was conducted but never published.
Jacqueline, who wrote her memoir Deadly Silence on the case, believes it should be published in order to prevent any similar tragedies occurring in the future.
Jacqueline is this week's guest on the podcast.
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Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Irish Examiner
'Release garda findings to aid domestic violence services', Clodagh Hawe's sister tells commissioner
Jacqueline Connolly, whose sister and three nephews were murdered by Alan Hawe, has written to the Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, asking for a review into the garda investigation to be published. Hawe murdered his wife Clodagh and sons Liam, 13; Niall, 11; and six-year-old Ryan at their home in Co Cavan in 2016, before taking his own life. The investigation into the murders was found to be incomplete and flawed in a number of respects and a review was ordered after Jacqueline and her mother went public on the matter. In her memoir Deadly Silence, Ms Connolly revealed the family was given sight of the completed review — which ran to 800 pages — but the family was not furnished with a copy. Ms Connolly believes it should be published in order to help prevent any similar tragedy from occurring in the future. 'I am appealing to you to release the findings in an appropriate way so that the timelines, behaviours, and patterns of family annihilators are given to the public, for those in abusive and controlling relationships, and to aid domestic violence services in expanding and advancing their policies,' she wrote to commissioner Drew Harris. "This, in turn, will align with the prevention and protection pillars of the Government's third national strategy on domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence" Speaking on The Mick Clifford Podcast, Ms Connolly said she met with justice minister Jim O'Callaghan in March to ask for his assistance in having the review published — but nothing has been done. Warning signs She said that the learnings to be taken from the review are vital in trying to ensure that a similar tragedy does not occur again. 'I've received hundreds of messages since the release of Deadly Silence, and some have been from women who read my book and said: 'You've shown me warning signs, it's really raised red flags with me, I'm in the process of quietly leaving my partner.' If 'Deadly Silence' can do that, imagine the power impact that the truth in the findings [of the review] would reveal and the lives that could be saved Her call for publication of the review is supported by Women's Aid, the support organisation for the victims of domestic violence. Sarah Benson, the chief executive of Women's Aid, told the Irish Examiner that since the publication of Ms Connolly's book, she had been contacted by women for whom elements of the story had resonated. 'Some who contacted me said they felt lucky that they may have had a near miss in terms of the risks they have been subjected to in a relationship,' Ms Benson said. 'It could be extremely beneficial and in the public interest to have reports like this shared in order to do what Jacqueline is saying, to help understand where there may have been missed opportunities, and to better bolster community response to domestic abuse and the risks associated with it.' Key flaws A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána told the Irish Examiner that in general 'reviews conducted by the Garda Serious Crime Team are not published for operational reasons'. The spokesperson also referred to a statement from Mr Harris on the case dating from 2019. In her book, Ms Connolly wrote that the review uncovered three key flaws with the original investigation. These were the mishandling of CCTV evidence, the interviewing of witnesses without the proper expertise, and digital evidence that simply was not collected. She said that accommodation could be made for redactions where the gardaí thought necessary but that there are huge learnings to be taken from the detail of how Alan Hawe conducted himself and where red flags could be raised in the future. 'It's frustrating and angering that I, as Clodagh's sister and the boys' aunt, am here again fighting for justice? Why should that have to happen? Why should the onus be on me to fight to do what's right for women and children?' she said. - If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services. Women's Aid national helpline is 1800 341 900
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Irish Examiner
The Mick Clifford Podcast: Clodagh Hawe's sister on why investigation into murder suicide should be published
In 2016 Alan Hawe murdered his wife Clodagh and their three children. The subsequent garda investigation was found to be deficient in a number of respects. Clodagh's sister Jacqueline and their mother Mary pushed for a proper investigation. That was conducted but never published. Jacqueline, who wrote her memoir Deadly Silence on the case, believes it should be published in order to prevent any similar tragedies occurring in the future. Jacqueline is this week's guest on the podcast.
Irish Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Family of mum and kids murdered by husband demand Garda review be made public
The devastated family of a mother and three children murdered by her husband want the Garda review into the case to be made public. The killing of Clodagh Hawe, 39, and her sons Liam, 13, Niall, 11, and six-year-old Ryan, by evil Alan Hawe before he took his own life, at their home in Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, shocked the nation. Now Clodagh's sister Jacqueline Connolly is demanding the Garda review into the August 2016 killings be put on the public record so other families can see the tell tale signs of such danger. She appealed to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to release the findings as a matter of urgency so that services and people around the country are made fully aware of what coercive control is and what "family annihilators" look like. Speaking this week in an interview on her local radio station Northern Sound, Jacqueline said: "One in three women are being coercively controlled and the Garda Commissioner needs to publish the findings so that these services and the country are aware of what family annihilators look like. Four-and-a-half years was spent trying to find answers as to why Alan Hawe murdered our family. "The general public are entitled after their tax money being spent on a review, to see those findings. "They need to be armed with this information, it is vital information, to protect and prevent domestic violence, for murder suicides and coercive control and all that comes with it." Jacqueline has launched a new book, Deadly Silence, about the horrific family murders and tells of their long fight for justice. The Garda Review was carried out in 2019 after complaints by the family during media interviews about the initial investigation. Ms Connolly told how the first investigation failed to follow up on information including "mishandling" CCTV and other evidence such as a secret phone Hawe used as well as laptops and other digital devices which were all destroyed before the review took place. Some of the findings from the Garda Review have been shared with the family but none have been made public. Ms Connolly said: "We should never have to battle for eight years and two investigations. There should never have been failings. "The onus should never have been on me and Mam to fight for justice. "But no, that meeting in 2019 was very much 'nothing to see here' when in fact there was plenty and the review was very critical of how the initial investigation was carried out. "The 'why' wasn't accounted for in the first investigation. "We had to fight, we were made to go public, if we didn't, where would we be now." She told how her brother-in law, a school vice-principal, was obsessed about what other people thought of him even in death. She added: "It was all about perception to him. Holier than thou. He wanted people to believe he was still a good man, like by killing Clodagh and the boys he was somehow doing them a favour, sparing them his downfall." Ms Connolly said it was later discovered Hawe had a porn addiction. He shared email accounts with his wife but operated an unknown alias using the fake name John Smithers. Nobody was able to access the account or discover what it was subscribing to. They also learned the killer dad had been planning to murder his family for at least a year in advance. She added: "There were behaviours, patterns leading up. He'd done the research, stuff online. That wasn't shown in the first investigation. He moved the furniture knowing Clodagh's back would be turned when it came to it. "He was a wolf in sheep's clothing who fooled us all. Looking back, he and Clodagh's relationship was not normal." Alan was initially buried with his wife and children and his body later exhumed after objections from her family.
