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LIV Golf superstar comes out swinging over Shane Lowry storm and claims players are stuck in no win situations
LIV Golf superstar comes out swinging over Shane Lowry storm and claims players are stuck in no win situations

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

LIV Golf superstar comes out swinging over Shane Lowry storm and claims players are stuck in no win situations

Jon Rahm reckons there has to be a rule change after Shane Lowry's two-shot storm at The Open, writes Craig Swan from Portrush. The Spanish star played alongside his Ryder Cup team-mate less than 24 hours after the controversial call which smacked the 2019 champion. Lowry was docked a couple of strokes when it was adjudged his ball had moved during a practice-swing routine on the 12th hole of his Friday round. The Irishman was sickened over the ruling which was based on camera footage, but says he was not going to argue as he was not prepared to be smashed with social-media taunts of being a cheat. READ MORE: Bryson DeChambeau hit by Open warning as he declares it's 'not rocket science' to fix key issue READ MORE: Former World number one tips Scottish golf prodigy everybody is raving about to go all the way Rahm was aware of the scenario and believes something has to change in the rules having been in the same situation himself at one point. The Liv star said: 'I can relate because I've been there. They've done exactly the same thing to me where they give you the iPad, and look what happened. 'You're in a no-win situation because if you say I didn't see it, therefore I don't think it should be a penalty, even though the rule says it should be visible to the naked eye, you always run the risk of being called something you don't want to be called. 'And, if you take it on the safe side, you're taking a two-shot penalty. If he starts at two-under today, you have a good Saturday, you can put yourself in contention. When you get 10 shots back, it's a little bit harder. It's a tough spot to be in. From what I understand from the whole thing, and I haven't seen the images, this is just from what I heard, it needs to be visible without a camera. 'If the rule says visible to the naked eye, we need to uphold that more than anything else. I don't know. It's always going to be based on the situation, and when you get in the rough, it's tricky. 'I'm assuming if he was in the rough on 12, right or left, there's enough people around you that if they see it, they're going to say so. Something needs to be changed for sure, I just don't know exactly how they could change it.' While unimpressed at the Lowry position, Rahm was not one of those with an issue over the slow play. He said: 'The people that played in my wave, we had a lot of rain come in and out, so umbrellas out, glove out, put the rain gear on, take the rain gear off, give the umbrella to the caddie. It becomes a lot longer that way. 'When you have 150 plus the first two rounds, every single major except the Masters, obviously, is going to be longer rounds. It's just what it is. 'In smaller fields when you have less people, and even in threesomes in small fields, you don't really have that issue. Once they get to the Playoffs or DP World championship or Abu Dhabi, those are not things that become an issue. 'I think there's so many players and there's so many opportunities where the game can get delayed, that's just going to happen. It's the flow of the game. There's very little you can do to make those rounds a lot shorter. That's just the nature of the game. 'It's a bit of an adjustment after playing in LIV because we absolutely fly. The one thing we do, I feel like every round is less than four and a half hours unless the weather conditions are crazy. Doral may be a little bit longer. 'It is an adjustment when you get to play a six-hour round a little bit, but I also know it's going to happen. 'Just distract yourself a little bit and basically lock back in when it's time. There's nothing else you can do.'

Hibs have it all to play for after averting danger in Denmark - a big Easter Road European night awaits
Hibs have it all to play for after averting danger in Denmark - a big Easter Road European night awaits

Scotsman

time6 hours ago

  • Sport
  • Scotsman

Hibs have it all to play for after averting danger in Denmark - a big Easter Road European night awaits

Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Easter Road will be lively next Thursday when Hibs welcome FC Midtjylland to Edinburgh for the return leg of this Europa League qualifier, with the tie deadlocked at 1-1 following a competitive first leg in Denmark. Midtjylland reached the knock-out phase of last season's competition and recently took part in the group stages of the Champions League, yet Hibs stood up to the task. Overcoming this opponent remains a big ask, but David Gray's men have a fighting chance back at what should be a sold-out home venue. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hibs showed all the resoluteness of the team that finished third in the Premiership last term to earn a score draw. They defended stoutly and were only undone by an individual piece of brilliance from Adan Simsir with a sumptuous free-kick midway through the second half. That strike cancelled out Jamie McGrath's seventh-minute opener for the visitors - also from a set-piece - although it wasn't quite as flashy, the Irishman given assistance by a shoddy piece of goalkeeping from Jonas Lossl. Hibs took the lead on seven minutes when Jamie McGrath, left, scored on his debut. | AP Hibs deserved that break. They worked tirelessly all night at the MCH Arena, where more illustrious teams have crumbled. Goalkeeper Jordan Smith was solid. The back three of Warren O'Hora, Rocky Bushiri and Jack Iredale stood up to an aerial bombardment, especially from set plays, and the highly-regarded Midtjylland striker Franculino was kept in check. In midfield, Dylan Levitt and Josh Mulligan dovetailed nicely in their first match together, while wing-backs Chris Cadden and Jordan Obita put in a shift. Ahead of them, the attacking trio of McGrath, Martin Boyle and Kieron Bowie all carried their own threats. This was a proper team effort. Midtjylland manager Thomas Thomasberg exuded confidence when this draw for the second qualifying round was made last month, saying he fully believed his team would prevail. Such bullishness may have come down a notch given how despite dominating possession, the Danes toiled to find a way through a well-organised Hibs. Gray and his coaching staff will take great pride in the way his players executed their gameplan. In possession, they were a 3-4-1-2 that countered swiftly, dropping into a 5-4-1 without the ball. Hibs were a disciplined unit all night, and did not miss key defender Lewis Miller, who was absent due to injury. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hibs debutants play their part Mulligan and McGrath made their debuts and both had telling impacts. Mulligan was asked to fulfil the role so aptly performed by Sunderland loanee Nectar Triantis last season and did so. McGrath has settled into this Hibs team seamlessly too and showed his prior European experience with Aberdeen. Record signing Thibault Klidje also came on later to make his first appearance in green and white. After enjoying what the town of Herning has to offer prior to kick-off, more than 1000 Hibs fans squeezed into the away end and celebrated joyously on seven minutes when their team took the lead. From out wide on the left, McGrath spotted that Lossl had edged over to his far post and whipped in his effort towards the other side. The ex-Huddersfield keeper could not get across in time and the ball crept over the goalline before he clawed it away. Midtjylland took a while to settle but once doing so they displayed good composure on the ball. They probed away at Hibs, yet found no opening. In fact, the visitors had the ball in the net again on 41 minutes when Boyle scampered through on the counter, only to be denied by a tight but correct offside flag. The Australian will have to wait at least another week for his 100th goal for the club. The Hibs players left it all out there in Herning against Midtjylland. | AP Midtylland found another gear in the second half. Hibs were content to soak up the pressure. Thomasberg turned to his bench in search of inspiration but it was one of his starters in Simsir who eventually unlocked the door on 72 minutes. A foul by Iredale gave away a free-kick central of goal but some 25 yards out. The 23-year-old Turk expertly bent the ball over the wall and past a helpless Smith. It was a strike of real quality. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Nevertheless, Hibs remained unflustered. Boyle saw a half-chance slip away from him before making way for Klidje. The home crowd got exasperated and tempers started to fray on the pitch too, with Hibs happy to time-waste and frustrate their hosts. Smith, Iredale, Obita, O'Hora and Alasana Manneh all picked up yellow cards. Battle will recommence next Thursday in Edinburgh. A third qualifying round date with Norwegian side Fredrikstad awaits the victors, with the losers dropping into the Conference League to play either Oleksandriya of Ukraine or Serbian side Partizan Belgrade, who won the first leg 2-0 away from home.

Ex-soldier who murdered girlfriend with hair straighteners in Spain learns fate
Ex-soldier who murdered girlfriend with hair straighteners in Spain learns fate

Irish Daily Mirror

time14 hours ago

  • Irish Daily Mirror

Ex-soldier who murdered girlfriend with hair straighteners in Spain learns fate

A former soldier has been jailed for just 15 years for the brutal murder of his Irish girlfriend at their Spanish holiday hotel. And Keith Byrne has been told the two years he has already spent in prison on remand and as a convicted felon following his conviction in May will qualify as time served. The sentencing decision, revealed overnight in a 121-page written ruling by the judge who presided over Byrne's trial at a court in the east coast Spanish city of Tarragona, means he could be back out on the streets in around a decade. Public prosecutors had demanded a 20 year jail sentence for the 34-year-old Irishman after a jury convicted him of strangling Kirsty to death with a hair straightener power cord at their four-star hotel in the popular Costa Daurada resort of Salou on July 2 2023 after she told him she was leaving him. And a private prosecutor for Kirsty's family said after the guilty verdict she was still seeking the 30-year sentence she argued for before and during the trial. Sentencing Judge Susana Calvo Gonzalez ruled the fact Bryne and his 36-year-old partner had been in a stable eight-month relationship made the horror crime more serious. Kirsty Ward. Hotel Magnolia in Salou, Spain. (Image: Irish Mirror) But she said the convicted killer's consumption of alcohol and drugs before he murdered Kirsty diminished his cognitive faculties and was a prevailing mitigating factor. The judge said in her lengthy ruling, rejecting arguments private prosecutor Estela Cortes put forward to justify a 30-year prison term: 'I understand that there is a prevailing basis for imposing the lower penalty and, therefore, imposing a sentence of between seven years and six months and 15 years. 'Within that range, the recognition of the aggravating circumstance and the motivation for the act…lead to the imposition of the maximum penalty, which is 15 years in prison.' Jurors found Keith Bryne guilty of murdering his south Dublin girlfriend on May 7 after three days of deliberations. The Irishman had claimed during his Tarragona trial the mum-of-one committed suicide at the four-star Magnolia Hotel. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week He described himself as a 'respectful and intelligent' father-of-three who would never commit an act of domestic violence - and demonised Kirsty as someone who could be 'four people in one day' especially after binging on alcohol and cocaine he claimed made their romance 'toxic'. Kirsty's mum Jackie Ward described Byrne as someone she 'didn't like' and 'didn't trust' on day one of the trial on April 23 and said she had found out after her daughter's death she had planned to leave him during their 'make or break' holiday. She was asked as she gave evidence whether she thought her daughter, whose son Evan was 14 when she died, could have committed suicide but replied angrily: 'She did everything for her son. She would never ever leave him. She would never do that to him.' Public prosecutor Javier Goimil, a domestic violence specialist, rubbished Byrne's court claim Kirsty took her own life during his closing speech to the jury on the final day of the murder trial. He claimed the former soldier, who had been living in Duleek, Co Meath, decided: 'You're mine or you're nobody's' and strangled his girlfriend to death because she wanted out of their stormy relationship. He said the forensic evidence pointed to Kirsty being strangled from behind between 8pm and 10pm on July 2 2023 after 'incapacitating herself' with alcohol and cocaine He told the court: 'Byrne has adapted his version of events of what happened in that timeframe nearly two years on in accordance with the evidence he's learnt there is against him. 'He's saying Kirsty tied a cable round her neck and attached it to the door knob but in the state she was in it would have been impossible for her to do that and there's nothing showing there was a knot in the cable. 'What's occurred here is a violent and painful death, a strangulation from behind where someone is pulling from the front to the back. This was not a suicide." He added: 'She didn't leave a note for her son or her siblings or her mum and what's more she had bought a plane ticket back to Dublin for July 4. 'Kirsty's relationship with Byrne was very toxic, very intense and very emotional. 'She decided to end it during the week they stayed at the hotel in Salou and her partner couldn't accept that decision. 'His mindset at that moment was: 'Or you're mine or you're nobody's. You, woman, are no-one to say you're going to detach yourself from me the man and have your own independent life. 'That was why he killed her the way he did.' He also said the amount of alcohol Kirsty had drunk before being killed would have impacted significantly on her ability to defend herself. Byrne's defence lawyer Jordi Cabre had been seeking his client's acquittal before the jury verdict and afterwards asked the judge to hand down the "minimum sentence" under Spanish law. The killer was led handcuffed from the court after learning he was a convicted criminal following nearly two years on remand in prison following his arrest, with the judge deferring sentencing as is normal in Spain. It emerged following Byrne's Spanish arrest that he was wanted in England by Royal Military Police for going AWOL after he left for Ireland in 2017. Reports in Ireland last March said Spanish prosecutors intended to interview at least two of his former partners about assisting the case by giving background information about him. One of these women previously claimed in an interview with the Irish Independent that Byrne had tried to strangle her in an incident at a property in Co Meath a number of years ago. Jackie Ward described her daughter after her death as a 'fantastic friend' to her parents and 'an absolutely adored daughter.' She told the congregation at the Church of John the Evangelist in Ballinteer, Dublin in July 2023 that she had been an amazing mum to Evan, saying: 'The two of them were an amazingly strong and tight team and I hope to continue the great work she has done. 'To me she was a fantastic friend and an absolutely adored daughter to myself and John. She was a caring sister, a cherished granddaughter and much loved niece and cousin. A loyal and true friend.' Kirsty's family said in a statement after the May 7 jury verdict: 'Our family wish to thank our private prosecutor Estela Cortes and her team for guiding, supporting and representing Kirsty, her son and our family at this very difficult and painful time; Javier Goimil the public prosecutor for his commitment and passion; the Spanish investigation teams and police for their expertise, empathy and understanding; and the jury for seeing and believing in what was the truth about our beautiful Kirsty. 'Our family now requests our privacy be respected, while we grieve and come to terms with all that has happened during the past two years.' The slain Irishwoman's loved ones have yet to react to the sentencing decision. Well-placed legal sources said after Byrne's trial finished they expected him to be jailed for around 20 years. Sign up to the Irish Mirror's Courts and Crime newsletter here and get breaking crime updates and news from the courts direct to your inbox.

Aki and Jones will hit it off exactly like any other type of partnership, insists Farrell
Aki and Jones will hit it off exactly like any other type of partnership, insists Farrell

Irish Examiner

time15 hours ago

  • Sport
  • Irish Examiner

Aki and Jones will hit it off exactly like any other type of partnership, insists Farrell

Andy Farrell selected a record nine Irishmen in his British & Irish Lions starting line-up for Saturday's second Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. No Lions Test side in the professional era has featured as many players from Ireland, though Farrell's predecessor Warren Gatland did select 10 Welshman for the final Test against the Wallabies on the 2013 tour, infamously jettisoning Brian O'Driscoll in the process. There was not as much blood on the carpet as the 2025 head coach unveiled the team he hopes can get the job done on Saturday and secure the series victory at the earliest possibility in this three-Test set and Irish representation might well have been at 11 had Joe McCarthy, Mack Hansen and Garry Ringrose not failed to pass fit. In a starting line-up showing three changes from last Saturday's 27-19 victory over Australia in Brisbane only the selection of Andrew Porter at loosehead prop over series-opening starter Ellis Genge was entirely unenforced. Joe McCarthy failed to overcome the plantar fasciitis in a foot that caused him to come off after 42 minutes in Brisbane, with the Irishman replaced in the second row by Ollie Chessum, who had come off the bench at Suncorp Stadium and now partners Maro Itoje from the start. Bundee Aki at inside centre could be considered unenforced in intent, yet Sione Tuipulotu would have missed the game in his hometown regardless due to a tight hamstring. Farrell's intention had been to replace his all-Scottish centre pairing of Tuipulotu and Huw Jones with an Irish one but having shown his hand to his squad on Wednesday night, his plan unravelled at the end of training on Thursday morning as Ringrose withdrew himself from a Lions Test debut after reporting a recurrence of concussion symptoms to his head coach. So a reprieve for first Test outside centre Jones in an Irish-Scottish combination alongside Aki. As one by now expects from Farrell, he was able to promote the upside, embracing the adversity that has made his Ireland tenure such a success. "It's a good place to be sometimes,' the Lions boss said of the enforced change. 'These things happen in the warm-up of any game, the pressure is off and people tend to play freely because of that type of situation. Huw won't miss a beat in that regard." Similarly, Aki, now reunited with his centre partner of 22 minutes at the tail end of last Saturday's win at Suncorp Stadium, and starting with Jones for only the second time having played the first 67 minutes together against the Queensland Reds. 'Sione has had a little bit of a tight hamstring going on there so we're nursing a little bit of that at the minute. I mean, Bundee's well able, isn't he? That type of combination is something we certainly would have trusted anyway," Farrell insisted. 'They'll be good. At this stage of the tour and well before this stage of the tour, actually, the combinations have been absolutely fine together. So Bundee and Huw will hit it off exactly like any other type of partnership.' Porter's promotion from the bench last weekend means an all-Irish front row with hooker Dan Sheehan and tighthead Tadhg Furlong while the back row is unchanged following standout performances from Tadhg Beirne, fellow flanker Tom Curry and No.8 Jack Conan in Brisbane. There will be joy in Wales with the selection of Jac Morgan as the back-row replacement, the Lions having last Saturday fielded a Test squad without a Welshman for the first time since 1896. Morgan replaces Ben Earl on the bench while James Ryan fills the vacuum as the lock replacement following the promotion of Chessum to the starting side. Farrell has been impressed by Morgan's reaction to his omission from the first Test 23. 'He hasn't missed a beat. No difference whatsoever. Now, I'm sure 100 per cent in himself, or what he talks to his family or whatever, but he was exactly the same last week, delighted for whoever was picked in his position, and was so good in helping the team prepare for that first Test. "And his peers are doing exactly the same back. He's just been himself, very polite and very diligent in his work.' The other changes to the bench are backs, with Owen Farrell replacing Marcus Smith and providing cover at 10 and 12, following an impressive 80-minute performance last Tuesday captaining the Lions to a narrow win over the First Nations & Pasifika XV. The former England captain's selection means the 32-year-old, son of the head coach, is in line to appear in his fourth Lions Test series having debuted in 2013 against the Australians. Scrum-half Alex Mitchell retains his place among the replacements but Aki's move into the number 12 jersey sees wing/full-back Blair Kinghorn named as the outside backs replacement. It was a far from straightforward selection process given the wait and see approaches on the fitness of McCarthy and Mack Hansen, who has not recovered from the foot injury he sustained on July 12, and then the late moment of selflessness from Ringrose. 'They are all difficult and that is exactly how it should be,' Farrell said. 'They all matter because it is such a huge game, I honestly believe this is one of the biggest, if not the biggest game we have all been involved with so selection always matters in that regard… until we get to the next one.' AUSTRALIA: Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Joseph Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Harry Potter; Tom Lynagh, Jake Gordon; James Slipper, David Porecki, Alan Alaalatoa; Nick Frost, Will Skelton; Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson – captain. Replacements: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson. BRITISH & IRISH LIONS: H Keenan (Ireland); T Freeman (England), H Jones (Scotland), B Aki (Ireland), J Lowe (Ireland); F Russell (Scotland), Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland); A Porter (Ireland), Dan Sheehan (Ireland), Tadhg Furlong (Ireland); M Itoje (England) – captain, O Chessum (England); T Beirne (Ireland), Tom Curry (England), J Conan (Ireland). Replacements: R Kelleher (Ireland), E Genge (England), W Stuart (England), J Ryan (Ireland), J Morgan (Wales), A Mitchell (England), O Farrell (England), B Kinghorn (Scotland).

Ex-soldier, 34, sentenced to 15 years over the murder of Irish girlfriend on ‘make or break' Spain holiday
Ex-soldier, 34, sentenced to 15 years over the murder of Irish girlfriend on ‘make or break' Spain holiday

The Irish Sun

time16 hours ago

  • The Irish Sun

Ex-soldier, 34, sentenced to 15 years over the murder of Irish girlfriend on ‘make or break' Spain holiday

A FORMER soldier has been jailed for just 15 years for the brutal murder of his Irish girlfriend at their Spanish holiday hotel. And Keith Byrne has been told that the two years 4 Kirsty Ward was murdered by her boyfriend on their holiday in Spain Credit: Collect image 4 Keith Byrne has been jailed for just 15 years for the brutal murder Credit: Social media - Refer to source 4 It emerged that Kirsty was planning on leaving Keith on their 'make or break' holiday The sentencing decision, revealed overnight in a 121-page written ruling by the judge who presided over Byrne's trial at a court in the east coast Public prosecutors had demanded a 20-year jail sentence for the 34-year-old Irishman after a jury convicted him of strangling Kirsty to death with a hair straightener power cord at their four-star hotel in the popular Costa Daurada resort of Salou on July 2 2023, after she told him she was leaving him. And a private prosecutor for Kirsty's family said after the guilty verdict, she was still seeking the 30-year sentence she argued for before and during the Sentencing judge Susana Calvo Gonzalez ruled the fact Bryne and his 36-year-old partner had been in a stable eight-month relationship made the horror READ MORE ON KIRSTY WARD But she said the convicted killer's consumption of The judge said in her lengthy ruling, rejecting arguments private prosecutor Estela Cortes put forward to justify a 30-year prison term: 'I understand that there is a prevailing basis for imposing the lower penalty and, therefore, imposing a sentence of between seven years and six months and 15 years. 'Within that range, the recognition of the aggravating circumstance and the motivation for the act…lead to the imposition of the maximum penalty, which is 15 years in Jurors found Keith Byrne guilty of murdering his South Most read in Irish News The Irishman had claimed during his Tarragona trial the mum-of-one committed suicide at the four-star Magnolia Hotel. He described himself as a 'respectful and intelligent' father-of-three who would never commit an act of domestic violence - and demonised Kirsty as someone who could be 'four people in one day', especially after binging on alcohol and cocaine, he claimed, made their romance 'toxic'. 'YOU'RE MINE OR YOU'RE NOBODY'S' Kirsty's mum Jackie Ward described Byrne as someone she 'didn't like' and 'didn't trust' on day one of the trial on April 23, and said she had found out after her daughter's death that She was asked as she gave evidence whether she thought her daughter, whose son Evan was 14 when she died, could have committed suicide but replied angrily: 'She did everything for her son. 'She would never ever leave him. She would never do that to him.' Public prosecutor Javier Goimil, a domestic violence specialist, rubbished Byrne's court claim that Kirsty took her own life during his closing speech to the jury on the final day of the murder trial. He claimed the former soldier, who had been living in Duleek, Co He said the forensic evidence pointed to Kirsty being strangled from behind between 8pm and 10pm on July 2 2023, after 'incapacitating herself' with alcohol and cocaine. He told the court: 'Byrne has adapted his version of events of what happened in that timeframe nearly two years on in accordance with the evidence he's learnt there is against him. TOXIC RELATIONSHIP 'He's saying Kirsty tied a cable round her neck and attached it to the door knob but in the state she was in it would have been impossible for her to do that and there's nothing showing there was a knot in the cable. 'What's occurred here is a violent and painful death, a strangulation from behind where someone is pulling from the front to the back. This was not a He added: 'She didn't leave a note for her son or her siblings or her mum and what's more she had bought a plane ticket back to Dublin for July 4. 'Kirsty's relationship with Byrne was very toxic, very intense and very emotional. 'She decided to end it during the week they stayed at the hotel in Salou and her partner couldn't accept that decision. 'His mindset at that moment was: 'Or you're mine or you're nobody's. You, woman, are no-one to say you're going to detach yourself from me the man and have your own independent life. 'That was why he killed her the way he did.' He also said the amount of alcohol Kirsty had drunk before being killed would have significantly impacted her ability to defend herself. WANTED IN ENGLAND Byrne's defence The killer was led handcuffed from the court after learning he was a convicted criminal following nearly two years on remand in prison following his arrest, with the judge deferring sentencing as is normal in Spain. It emerged following Byrne's Spanish arrest that he was wanted in England by the Reports in One of these women previously claimed in an interview with the Irish Independent that Byrne had tried to strangle her in an incident at a property in Co Meath a number of years ago. 'ADORED DAUGHTER' Jackie Ward described her daughter after her death as a 'fantastic friend' to her parents and 'an absolutely adored daughter.' She told the congregation at the Church of John the Evangelist in Ballinteer, Dublin, in July 2023 that she had been an amazing mum to Evan, saying: 'The two of them were an amazingly strong and tight team and I hope to continue the great work she has done. 'To me she was a fantastic friend and an absolutely adored daughter to myself and John. She was a caring sister, a cherished granddaughter and much loved niece and cousin. A loyal and true friend.' Kirsty's family said in a statement after the May 7 jury verdict: 'Our family wish to thank our private prosecutor Estela Cortes and her team for guiding, supporting and representing Kirsty, her son and our family at this very difficult and painful time; Javier Goimil the public prosecutor for his commitment and passion; the Spanish investigation teams and police for their expertise, empathy and understanding; and the jury for seeing and believing in what was the truth about our beautiful Kirsty. 'Our family now requests our privacy be respected, while we grieve and come to terms with all that has happened during the past two years.' The slain Irishwoman's loved ones have yet to react to the sentencing decision. Well-placed legal sources said after Byrne's trial finished, they expected him to be jailed for around 20 years. 4 The shocking murder occurred at the Spanish hotel Credit: Solarpix

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