Judge finalises sentencing of Athlone man

Athlone man Jimmy Devaney has been sentenced to eight years in prison for the manslaughter of Marie Greene in Athlone in 2011.

During this morning’s sentencing hearing in Dublin’s Central Criminal Court, Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan expressed her sympathy to the family of Marie, a native of St Mel’s Terrace who was 37 years old at the time of her death.

The judge said the facts of the case were “very distressing” and as a result of Mr Devaney’s crime, the Greene family had been deprived of a daughter, granddaughter, sister and aunt.

She said the killing by Mr Devaney (67) warranted a custodial sentence of eleven years, but taking all of the mitigating factors into account she sentenced him to a total of eight years in prison.

The sentence was backdated to July 30 last, the day a jury of five men and six women found Mr Devaney not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.

See this week’s Westmeath Independent for a full report and reaction.