A 56-year-old mother of four has been found not guilty of murder but guilty of the manslaughter of her husband by reason of diminished responsibility.
Anne Burke, from Ballybrittas in Co Laois, was suffering from a depressive disorder when she killed her husband at the family home in August 2007.
He suffered 23 blows to the head from a hammer, which were inflicted by his wife as he slept.
The court heard that Mrs Burke had suffered violence and abuse from her husband throughout their 32-year marriage.
Both were heavy drinkers and because of her depressive disorder she could not see a way out of the marriage.
Her daughter, Linda Burke, told the trial her earliest memory was of her father holding a shotgun to her mother's head and threatening to blow her head off. She also recalled being beaten by her father at the age of six.
Psychiatrists for the prosecution and the defence agreed that Mrs Burke was suffering from a depressive disorder at the time of the killing and had attempted suicide before and after it.
Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy had urged the jury to base their verdict on reason and common sense and not on sympathy for either party or their views on marital violence.
After 30 minutes of deliberation, the jury unanimously found her not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
