Athlone stag night killer to be sentenced next week

The devastated sister of an Edenderry man who died following an assault while attending a stag party in Athlone in 2022 has told a court of how the thoughts of his “violent death” bring “grief, anger and fear” to those who loved him.

In a powerful victim impact statement read out in Mullingar Circuit Court on Tuesday, Dianne Lynch spoke of how her brother, Paul ‘Babs’ Connolly, should have come home the next day on a bus with his friends: “instead, he came home in a hearse, with his heartbroken family following behind him.”

Mr Connolly tragically lost his life in the early hours of August 13, 2022, after an altercation with Roscommon native, Sean Munnelly (40), with an address at Irishtown, Athlone, Co Westmeath.

Before his sentence hearing began, Judge Deirdre Browne extended her condolences to the Connolly family, acknowledging the fact that the hearing would be “a harrowing matter” regarding the “terrible loss” they have suffered.

Earlier this year, Mr Munnelly, who appeared in custody, pleaded guilty to the offence of the unlawful killing of Paul ‘Babs’ Connolly in the early hours of August 13, 2022, on Church Street, Athlone.

Detective Sergeant Kevin Craig outlined to the court and Cathal O’Braonáin BL, prosecuting, how the deceased man, Mr Connolly, who was aged 47 at the time, had travelled from Edenderry with 15 other males for a stag night in Athlone.

Statements were taken from over 130 witnesses, including members of the stag party, members of the public who came across Mr Connolly or Mr Munnelly throughout the day, witnesses to the incident which resulted in the death of Mr Connolly, and members of An Garda Síochána who were involved in the investigation.

Throughout the night, Mr Connolly socialised at a number of bars, leaving the Piano Bar at around 1.40am before going to a nearby takeaway to get food, before sitting on a bench close to where Mr Munnelly and a co-accused, David Higgins, were standing with a number of other people.

Mr Higgins (23), of St Paul’s Terrace, Athlone, was previously prosecuted before Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Court for assault causing harm and engaging in violent disorder, and received a one-year prison sentence in December 2023.

Witness statements suggested Mr Connolly had asked a woman if she watched child pornography. Mr Munnelly became angry at this point and matters escalated, the court heard.

Extensive CCTV footage played in court showed Mr Higgins and Mr Munnelly engaging in an altercation with Mr Connolly, which resulted in the victim receiving a number of kicks and punches and falling to the ground.

A number of bystanders can be seen separating the men, with one man helping Mr Connolly up. Various other clips show further interactions between the men, with a final clip at 2.38am showing Mr Munnelly talking and gesturing in a verbal altercation with Mr Connolly before swinging one punch to the man’s temple. Mr Connolly is then seen dropping to the ground as Mr Munnelly walks away.

A number of witnesses to the assault are seen rushing to his aid, with Gardaí arriving within minutes. Mr Connolly was then put in the recovery position before one witness, a nurse who happened to be in the area, came to his assistance.

In her statement, the nurse told Gardaí she had seen the punch and heard Mr Munnelly saying “fucking deserved it; nobody pisses me off”, as he walked away.

She proceeded to check Mr Connolly for a pulse and found he had none. She also noticed he was blue in the face and unable to breath, with his eyes rolled back in his head, the court heard. CPR commenced and the woman shouted for a defibrillator. However, when she applied it, the machine indicated that no shock was needed, signalling that her efforts to resuscitate him would not succeed.

Paramedics arrived shortly afterwards and noted no brain activity. Efforts were made to save Mr Connolly until 3.30am when his time of death was confirmed and he was brought to the mortuary in Ballinasloe, where his brother Michael attended that afternoon to identify him.

A post-mortem took place with detailed conclusions indicating that there was no damage to the brain. Anatomical trauma caused by blows and falls were non-fatal direct injuries, the court heard.

It was concluded that Mr Connolly went into cardiac arrest almost immediately following his second fall, which arose from “a complex interaction of mild, blunt-force trauma to the head, in the setting of emotional stress, associated with acute alcoholic intoxication”.

The court then heard how Mr Munnelly left the area and encountered an acquaintance who informed him that someone had died on the street, prompting him to respond with “oh fuck, I killed the man”.

Mr Munnelly stayed with a friend in Moate for a few hours, before going to a driving range later that morning. When he returned to Athlone, he encountered two Gardaí who recognised him.

He ran but was “swiftly caught and arrested”, the court heard, and conveyed to Athlone Garda Station where he was detained and interviewed four times, making no comment. He was later charged with manslaughter and has been in custody since then, serving a number of sentences for other offences.

Mr Munnelly has 102 previous convictions, including two for assault causing harm, one for threats to kill, and various others including drugs-related offences, road traffic offences and public order offences.

Between December 2022 and April 2023, he was serving sentences for driving without insurance and trespassing. He was on bail for those matters when he committed the offence before the court. He was also serving a suspended sentence for assault causing harm. Due to a breach in the conditions of that sentence, a portion of that sentence was activated and served between December 2023 and January 2025.

In touching victim impact statements, Mr Connolly’s sister, Dianne Lynch, and his niece, Shona Connolly, both described a beloved brother and uncle, who doted on each and every one of his nieces and nephews.

They both referred to him as “the cherished baby boy of the family”, resulting in his nickname, ‘Babs’. As the uncle who was “closest in age” to his nieces and nephews, he taught them about music, movies, and motorbikes and was there for the milestone events in their lives.

Both spoke of the utter devastation the family has suffered since his death, with Ms Connolly adding that the pain was made even worse by the number of people circulating footage of the attack on social media.

“The knowledge that his final moments of life were being shared around was very distressing,” said Ms Connolly, adding that this also helped them to find out what happened and was therefore “both a blessing and a curse”.

In an apology letter read into the court record by his Senior Counsel, John Shortt, Mr Munnelly told the Connolly family he was “truly sorry”.

“I never set out to hurt anyone. There are a lot of lives destroyed by my actions. It’s like a nightmare that I wake up to every day, rather than waking up from,” he said, adding that he thinks about what happened every day.

“I would urge anyone to think twice before they lift their hands to anyone. My actions have damaged a lot of lives and now I have to live with that for the rest of my life.”

In mitigation, Mr Shortt stressed that evidence from the pathologist concluded that this is a “complex case”, and that the cause of death was cardiac arrest, with the blunt-force trauma to the head on its own being non-fatal.

It was for that reason that there wasn’t an immediate plea, he said, but there was an eventual guilty plea, which saved the family the distress of going through a trial.

A probation report handed into the court shows insight, confirms remorse and confirms ongoing rehabilitation, Mr Shortt pointed out.

“With regard to the attitude to the index offence, the Probation and Welfare Officer states that, during interviews with her, he consistently maintained he did not mean to cause severe harm or death and he acknowledges his actions were disproportionate,” said Mr Shortt.

“He has been, on some level, traumatised by the incident,” Mr Shortt added, stating that his client suffers panic attacks, high blood pressure, and flashbacks, and “he has to live with knowing he took someone’s life. He has demonstrated clear understanding as to the seriousness and fatal consequences of his behaviour.”

The probation officer also reported Mr Munnelly to be in “visible distress” over his actions, with “a lack of self pity regarding incarceration”, stating that he “describes whatever sentence he receives as appropriate, and says he must be punished for his actions”.

To date, he has spent “in or around” 16 months in custody on this particular charge, Mr Shortt said, but “Mr Munnelly does not come seeking leniency”.

“What he asks is a proportionate sentence based on the legal principles and that is confirmed by the probation officer who says there isn’t self pity. There is also the fact that it is a single blow case, with the complexities from a pathological point of view that have been outlined.”

Judge Browne again addressed the Connolly family on what “must have been a harrowing afternoon”, stating that she will give consideration to the matter over the course of the next week. She thanked the family for coming, and particularly thanked those family members who had written victim impact statements.

Mr Munnelly was remanded in custody to reappear on Friday, October 16, when he will be sentenced.