A 55-year-old inmate suffering from mental illness who strangled his cellmate in Cloverhill prison four years ago has been jailed for ten years.
Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford today commended the Lawlor family for their dignity throughout the case.
Connolly and Lawlor were sharing a cell in Cloverhill prison on the night of the 22-23 November 2019.
Both men had mental health issues and were alone when Connolly borrowed a kettle from the cell next door and scalded Lawlor before strangling him.
The court heard that Connolly, who is originally from Dublin but moved to Louth, had delusional beliefs, including that prisoners were in league with prison officers in "a homosexual conspiracy".
He also believed that Lawlor, who was 38 and from Drumcondra in Dublin, had "some kind of exalted identity like a king" and was "a kingpin of Dublin".
Connolly was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
His sister had tried to have him committed to an institution before his attack on Lawlor and had contacted gardaí by phone and email about her concerns that there might be an incident if Connolly's mental health further deteriorated.
Ms Justice Lankford sentenced Connolly to twelve years in prison suspending the final two to allow him an opportunity to reintegrate into society upon his release.
She also paid tribute to the Lawlor family noting that Mark was "a good and decent person" and "the apple of his mother Ann's eye" – who "died of a broken heart".
