Tadhg Butler jailed for nine years for manslaughter

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

Justice Michael White sentenced Tadhg Butler to nine years in prison for manslaughter on 18 October 2018, after an earlier murder conviction carrying a mandatory life sentence had been overturned. The prison term ran from when Butler entered custody. The proceedings were reported on 18 October 2018.

Butler pleaded guilty in July 2018 to unlawfully killing 25-year-old Michael O'Dwyer. The killing occurred on 10 January 2014.

His initial murder trial began in April 2015, but a legal issue caused the jury's discharge that day. Another jury convicted him a few weeks later, resulting in the life term. The Court of Appeal quashed that conviction. A third trial in 2018 ended without a verdict because jurors could not agree. The State subsequently accepted his manslaughter plea.

Justice White assessed the headline sentence at between 12 and 14 years. Aggravating factors were Butler's criminal record, tendency towards violence and the violent, tragic death of an innocent man. The judge allowed for genuine remorse and the absence of an intention to inflict serious injury.

Michael O'Dwyer's brother Paul said the family took no comfort from knowing Michael had died frightened and alone. He said Butler lacked remorse and the family would live with the consequences permanently.

Giving evidence at his April 2018 trial, Butler described the stabbing as accidental. He said he was removing a knife from his nephew to stop him harming himself.

His nephew, Anthony O'Grady, had told gardai that Butler approached his friend and stabbed him using a butcher's knife. In court, however, he reported having no memory of events, described his drug addiction and psychiatric problems, and acknowledged that his uncle's account might be true.

The report said Butler intended to appeal his conviction.