Nathan O'Neill jailed for manslaughter after nightclub stabbing

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Nathan O'Neill was sentenced to ten years in prison, with the final year suspended, for the manslaughter of Jamie Higgins. The proceedings were reported on 24 April 2023.

O'Neill pleaded guilty to manslaughter. A jury convicted him of that offence after a trial for murder.

O'Neill, from Dooradoyle in Limerick, was 19 when he stabbed the 23-year-old five times at the Shannon Knights nightclub in Co Clare in the early hours of 18 March 2018. He also stabbed Higgins' friend Michael Shannon three times.

The court heard there was a history between the two men and that O'Neill told gardaí he had been bullied and intimidated by Higgins. Earlier that night, Higgins punched O'Neill at the nightclub, leaving him upset. O'Neill left and returned around an hour later with a knife, which he used during a further altercation.

Mr Justice Paul Burns said O'Neill had returned armed and used the knife repeatedly when the other two men were unarmed. In mitigation, the judge said O'Neill had pleaded guilty early, fully cooperated with gardaí and shown genuine remorse.