A 35-year-old man will be sentenced next week for the manslaughter of another man who died in a fire in his mobile home in Co Kilkenny almost 16 years ago.
Through his defence counsel, Martin Kelly of Church Road in Castlecomer apologised to the family of Gerry Nolan for what he had done.
Kelly was charged in 2020, after a cold-case investigation by gardai in Kilkenny and Carlow.
Mr Nolan's family said in victim impact statements that the amount of time it had taken for the matter to come to court had prolonged their suffering.
Gerry Nolan lived in a mobile home in the garden of his family home in Castlecomer in Co Kilkenny.
He was one of 12 children and one of his brothers lived in a prefab beside him.
In the early hours of 24 July 2006, he returned to his mobile home after spending the afternoon drinking in a pub in Castlecomer.
At around 3.45am, his brother William was woken by his dogs barking and saw a man heading in the direction of Gerry's mobile home.
He heard breaking glass and saw flames coming from the home.
William Nolan ran to the mobile home and shouted at his brother to get out.
He heard his brother shout that he was not able to escape.
He tried to break in but was forced to move back by the intensity of the flames.
When emergency services arrived the mobile home was engulfed in flames.
The sides and roof had melted away completely and Gerry Nolan's remains were found inside.
William Nolan initially identified a relative of Kelly as being the person he saw in the garden and also picked this relative out of an identity parade in which Kelly also took part.
Kelly's girlfriend at the time claimed she had been in bed with him in Tipperary during the night and also said their car had not moved all night.
Kelly denied involvement and no one was charged with the blaze.
In 2015, the case was reexamined by Kilkenny and Carlow gardai under Superintendent Derek Hughes.
Kelly's girlfriend admitted she had not told the truth in earlier statements.
She admitted her then boyfriend had left the home in the early hours of the morning and that their car had moved.
She also said Kelly had told her he killed Gerry Nolan.
Kelly denied again that he was involved but was charged in March 2021 and earlier this year he pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
The court heard he had 196 previous convictions, including convictions for assault, criminal damage involving fire, burglary and entering buildings with intent to commit an offence as well as a conviction for endangerment for driving a vehicle at a member of An Garda Síochána.
Detective Inspector Sean O'Meara told the court the last decade and a half had been very difficult for Mr Nolan's family.
He agreed with defence counsel Michael Bowman that the acknowledgement of wrongdoing by Kelly was of great significance to the family.
The court heard that Kelly was brought up in an environment where drug and alcohol abuse were prevalent and had also abused heroin and alcohol himself.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Nolan's son Christopher, who was 23 at the time, said the killing had deeply impacted his life in the worst possible way.
He said he suffered from depression and had not been able to work.
He said he hoped he would be finally able to move on with his life when his dad got the justice he deserved.
William Nolan said he would never forget the horrifying images of his brother's home ablaze.
He said he was forever saddened to have to face life without his best friend.
Mr Nolan's sister Margaret said her brother was a kind and gentle soul and she did not think she would ever come to terms with him being killed in such a violent fashion.
Two other brothers and a sister also gave victim impact statements in which they described the traumatic impact of his death for the past 16 years.
Mr Bowman said his client offered an unqualified apology to Mr Nolan's family.
He said he had gone to the property intending to frighten Mr Nolan and had not intended to cause his death.
He had used drugs and alcohol over the years to cope with the grief and shame of what he had done and told a psychologist he felt a big relief that he no longer had to live a lie.
Mr Bowman said Kelly was trying to make peace with the terrible wrong he had inflicted on the Nolan family.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott said he would sentence him next Monday.
