A Dublin civil servant has been sentenced to eight years in prison for the manslaughter of her husband.
Dolores O'Neill (51) was last month found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter, in accordance with her plea.
O'Neill, a mother of two, had denied murdering her 46-year-old husband, Declan, on or about July 22nd, 2002, at the family home in Coolamber Park, Knocklyon, in Dublin.
During the six-day trial, Prof John Harbison testified that Declan O'Neill died as a result of multiple blows to the head. He detected at least 24 marks from a blunt instrument to that area.
In her evidence Dolores O'Neill spoke of a painful marriage, with the first outburst of violence from her husband two weeks before their wedding in 1978. She recounted events of his drinking, when he would frequently leaving the family short of cash for household expenses.
She told the court about verbal as well as physical abuse, recalling one occasion when he told her: "I'm mixing with people now who can make people disappear."
When asked why she had never secured a barring order, she said the stigma attached had prevented her.
"I wanted his best interests, wanted to help him . . . I still loved him. Declan knew I still had feelings for him and he toyed with them," she said.