EAMONN LILLIS will be sentenced this morning for the manslaughter of his wife, Celine Cawley.
Mary Ellen Ring, prosecuting, became emotional yesterday as she read a victim impact statement written by Ms Cawley’s sister, Susanna.
A statement from Ms Cawley’s and Lillis’s teenage daughter was also handed into the Central Criminal Court.
Two of Lillis’s old university friends entered the witness box to give character statements on his behalf, while defence counsel Brendan Grehan, handed Mr Justice Barry White three other testimonials on behalf of his client.
“It’s next to impossible to put into writing what’s happened to the family’s lives since last December,” wrote Ms Cawley.
She wrote that the memory of her “good-humoured, roguish, fun, compassionate, caring sister” was entirely deleted from her mind. It had been replaced with “a horror of blood” her head-shaven, dead body and the 18 injuries to her face.
“The image of her slipping in blood and frost fighting for her life on the patio is all that I can think of,” she wrote. Not knowing exactly what happened was the worst part, the statement read.
She wrote that while their mother and sister had passed away surrounded by the comfort of hospice staff, Celine Cawley was denied that dignity. “Even her funeral was a media circus,” she wrote.
“The treacherous lies are overwhelming,” she noted, describing as worst the story Lillis told about the intruder and the lie he told her father about Ms Cawley scratching his face.
“Dad deserves to know the truth,” she wrote. Instead, Lillis had taken advantage of his loyal and kind nature. This was “the worst sin”. She wrote that despite 13 months of opportunity, there had been a lack of remorse and no apology.
Copy writer Gerry Kennedy told the court that he had known Eamonn Lillis since the 1970s, when they met in UCD.
“I would consider Eamonn one of my closest friends,” he said. “A gentleman, kind considerate, a good listener and a good friend to me.” He said that in 1980 his only brother had been killed in a car crash in Mexico, and that the support Lillis had given him, his family, and especially his mother would not be forgotten.
“When my first daughter, Eve, was born, he was the only man I wanted as godfather,” he added. “He was a gentleman in that regard.” He said he was also asked to be godfather to Lillis and Ms Cawley’s daughter. “It was a fantastic honour to be asked,” he said.
He added that he had worked on a number of advertising campaigns with Lillis and Toytown Films.
“I know he misses Celine a lot and would do anything to have her back,” he said. “I’d like to see him given a chance to have a relationship with his daughter as she moves from childhood into adulthood. He’s almost the last person in the world I thought would be here today,” he said, adding that he was not saying that only because he was an old friend. “I genuinely believe that.” “He’s always been a gentleman, considerate. I believe he still is,” he concluded.
Another old university friend of Lillis gave evidence.
“I’ve known Eamonn Lillis for 34 years,” said Siobhán Cassidy, a teacher. “We met in UCD, where we both studied English literature together.
“My impression of him has never changed,” she said, describing him as “a mild-mannered man, gentle and courteous”.
Mr Grehan asked her if she had ever seen him to be confrontational.
“Quite the opposite, non-confrontational,” she replied. “He was interested in the human spirit, film and poetry.” She said that when she had her first child, she also asked Lillis to be godfather.
“Eamonn has been an excellent godfather,” she said, describing his selection of gifts for her daughter’s birthdays and degree as perfect.
“The love between him and [his daughter] is evident,” she said, describing his daughter as always to the forefront of his mind.
She concluded by recalling her first thoughts when her husband rang her to say Ms Cawley had died. “My reaction was quite simply: Thank God [their daughter] has Eamonn.”
Mr Grehan told the judge that his client still referred to his wife in the present tense, and described her as his partner in every way. “She was neither a bully nor a tyrant, but a loving mother and wife,” Lillis said through Mr Grehan.
Secondly, he said that his client had never come to Garda attention in his 51 years before his wife’s death.
“He has a half century to the good up to that point,” he said.
Earlier Det Sgt Gary Kelly had confirmed that photographers had “staked out” Lillis’s home since his conviction.
“The media have plagued his home since last week,” said the detective. He agreed that photographers had been on step ladders and up trees, trying to get photographs of him at home. They had also followed him and his daughter to horse-riding lessons and followed Lillis and his sister into town.
Mr Grehan said a large number of photographers had also followed Lillis on his twice-daily trip to sign on at the local Garda station. “I did see them chase him up the road,” said Det Sgt Kelly.
Ms Ring confirmed to Mr Justice White that Lillis had never offered a plea to manslaughter. She also said that the moderate force accepted to have been used could not have been accidental.
She described involuntary manslaughter as a misleading term and said the Director of Public Prosecutions rated this case at the upper end of the range of manslaughter. “The resulting publicity is the result of his actions,” she said.
Mr Justice White said that manslaughter sentences ranged from suspended to life in prison.
He said that in this case he needed some time to read some legal judgments along with the victim impact statements and testimonials. He remanded Lillis in custody and he was taken to Cloverhill Prison for the night.