Robbie Walsh convicted of manslaughter in Kilkee fight

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

Robbie Walsh was convicted of the manslaughter of Karl Haugh following a fatal stabbing in Kilkee, County Clare. A sentence hearing took place on 25 March 2019, with sentencing due the following month.

The fight took place at a housing estate in the early hours of 6 August 2017. The report said Walsh did not bring a knife to the fight. Walsh told gardaí that he picked up a knife while grappling with Haugh and stabbed him once in the back.

Walsh claimed his cousin had been attacked by Haugh earlier that night after calling to his house to buy drugs. He told gardaí that he and his cousins later returned to the estate for a fight, but that he had no intention of killing anyone.

A victim impact statement was read on behalf of Haugh’s mother at the sentence hearing. The court heard that her daughter had died in a car crash that almost claimed Karl’s life when he was 11.