The Rachel O'Reilly murder trial at the Central Criminal Court heard evidence yesterday of e-mails between the accused, Joe O'Reilly, and his sister, Ann, four months before the death of Rachel O'Reilly.
The four e-mails, written shortly after a meeting between the couple and the social services, following an anonymous complaint about Rachel O'Reilly's handling of their two sons, reveal the depth of Joe O'Reilly's disillusionment with his marriage, his feelings of repulsion towards his 30-year-old wife, and his fear of being reduced to "Mr Weekend Custody" in the eyes of the State after a separation.
The force of the language, delivered in lengthy spiels of contempt, stunned the packed courtroom. Rose and Jim Callaly, sitting together with their surviving children, Ann, Declan, Anthony and Paul, seemed transfixed as the words "she repulses me" left the mouth of Dominic McGinn BL and echoed around the court.
"I keep telling her, straight as you like, exactly what I think of her mothering instincts. She's under no illusions there. Do I tell her at every hand's turn? Yes. In fact, to be even a little fair, I'm very aware that I'm over-critical at times, although I don't feel too guilty about it to be honest, as she repulses me."
In the second of his e-mails read by Mr McGinn, Joe O'Reilly revealed that an anonymous complainant to the social services had been his mother. "It was Ma reported the incident . . ."
This information triggered a sharp gasp of disbelief among the Callalys, tipping them finally from stoical listeners into a distressed huddle of tears and whispers.
"Where the hell did you hear I was going for a night out with that c**t?", he asks, after his sister informed him that Rachel had planned a meal out with her husband later that week. "A meal? I'd rather choke . . . To quote your good self, Ann, never look back, only look forward, eh? Just to drill the point home, 'me' plus 'Rachel' plus 'marriage' equals 'over'."
As the reading continued, Joe O'Reilly made notes in his customary businesslike style, while his mother remained expressionless, arms folded, seated as usual at the back of the court.
His rage at the "apathy displayed by our wonderful child protection people" following his mother's complaint is palpable throughout, expressed in sentences dripping with irony: "Shouldn't really complain, though. She is a wonderful mother in the eyes of the State."
He tells his sister she is "suspect number one" for the anonymous complaint. "By all means, drag her fat ass outside and kick it into the middle of next week, but not in front of the boys, and don't leave any marks that can and will be used against in the court of law."
Minutes later, Ann O'Reilly replies: "So she knows the marriage is over then and it's a divorce. What does she say to that? . . . You're f**ked as a father in this dump. Ask her to move abroad. I really don't know how you're going to get out of this one."
On that note, the court day ended. As the judge stepped down, the Callalys rose and collapsed into each other's arms.
