A 64-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering his former partner by setting fire to the car she was in.
Michael Leonard from Kilmallock in Co Limerick pleaded guilty to murdering 72-year-old Mary O'Keeffe in Doneraile in Co Cork in February last year.
The court heard he had become "increasingly obsessed" with her after she ended their relationship in late 2019.
Ms O'Keeffe was described in court as a positive, happy, kind person. She was a widowed mother of three, with 11 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
She loved music and attended dances and social events with friends all over the country.
She first met Leonard at a dance in 2016. She was unaware he was married the court heard, and was then led to understand he was getting a divorce.
In Autumn 2019, she told him she wanted to end their relationship.
Detective Sergeant James O'Shea told the court this greatly upset Leonard, who emotionally manipulated Ms O'Keeffe requiring her to remain in contact with him.
In 2020, she told friends he was smothering her and she did not know what he was capable of.
Sergeant O'Shea agreed with prosecuting counsel, Anne Marie Lawlor, that Leonard became increasingly obsessed with Ms O'Keeffe's movements and with a person he believed was in a relationship with her.
When gardaí examined CCTV footage after the murder they saw him near her home on 45 occasions between Christmas 2020 and February 2021. In most cases, Ms O'Keeffe did not know he was there.
On the afternoon of 4 February 2021, the court heard Leonard arranged to meet Ms O'Keeffe at Drumdeer Woods in Doneraile.
She got into his car and within minutes the vehicle was engulfed in a fire that burned for an hour.
Leonard was found a couple of hours later in the middle of a local river, his hands tied to a tree with shoelaces. He admitted to gardaí that he had poured two gallons of petrol into the car and set it alight.
He said he had not hurt Ms O'Keeffe before he set fire to the car, but said he did not help her to get out. He wanted to be in the car himself he said, but was blown back by the flames.
He told the gardai that it had been "terrible hurful" to be lied to by Ms O'Keeffe about her new relationship and said he still loved her.
In a victim impact statement, Nikki O'Keeffe told the court her grandmother, who was known as Moll, was adored by all. As well as music, she loved knitting and would knit presents for friends and family.
They heard about fire on the news and could not believe it was Ms O'Keeffe who had been killed. They could not understand who would do such a thing or why.
She said her grandmother was deeply loved, sadly missed and would never be forgotten. Her family would like to think she was happy dancing in the sky, she said.
Defence counsel Michael Bowman said his client had written a letter of apology but members of the family said they did not want to hear it.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott said the court had heard details of the most horrific attack and a terrible loss had been inflicted on the family.
He imposed the mandatory sentence of life in prison as Ms O'Keeffe's family applauded.
