The mother of a man who was "brutally" beaten to death by his best friend with a baseball bat has said her trust in people has been destroyed and no punishment would compare to the pain that had been inflicted on her family.
Robert Broughan, of St Patrick's Park, Rathangan in Co Kildare, attacked 34-year-old Roy Hopkins on the Grand Canal on 31 July 2020 after they had gone there together to fish.
Broughan told gardaí there had never been "a cross word between them", but he wanted to make his friend's "head explode" and had also wanted to kill another person.
The 30-year-old also sent a text the victim's phone after he had killed him, asking Mr Hopkins "how's the head?"
He told gardaí that if he had received a reply then he would have gone back to "finish him off".
In her victim impact statement, Mr Hopkins' mother, Caitriona Hopkins, told Broughan that he had destroyed her trust in people and that no punishment would compare to the pain, grief and loss he had inflicted on their family.
His mother described Roy as a very caring, considerate and kind son with "a sense of humour that always made us laugh".
Ms Hopkins bought her son a new fishing rod for his birthday the year that he was murdered.
Her son, she said, was "so proud going fishing with his new rod".
"This person treated my son as if he were nothing," she said, adding he beat him "to a pulp" and left him "for dead all alone on the canal bank".
"He died in horrendous and shocking circumstances," she said.
"We are haunted every night by what he endured," she added.
Ms Hopkins said: "How could his killer value Roy's life so cheaply.
"We are haunted by the horror of it, the nightmare.
"I jump up in bed and realise I'm living it."
Ms Hopkins said "no punishment" will compare to the "pain, grief and loss" that Broughan inflicted the family".
"We live in hell on earth every day because of the terrible atrocities you inflicted on Roy," she added.
She told Broughan that he "knew" the family, adding "you did not care".
"No person with any dignity or morals would do this to any living creature," she said.
"We are victims because of your atrocious actions. Life on earth is gone forever," she added.
Mr Hopkins' mother said: "The days are long and dreary, the nights are full of terror."
Mr Justice Tony Hunt said Broughan had not shown any sympathy for the Hopkins family or expressed any remorse for what he had done.
He imposed the mandatory term of life in prison on Broughan.
Mr Hopkins lived on his own with his three dogs and his passion was fishing.
He went fishing with his friend to the Grand Canal outside his home in Rathangan on a "beautiful summer's evening" in 2020.
But Broughan took out a baseball bat and hit the man who he called his "best friend" on the forehead and the side of the head.
After Mr Hopkins fell into the reeds, Broughan hit him again on the nose and Adam's apple - four times in all.
Broughan told gardaí that he intended to "kill him" and "make his head explode".
He drove away, doused the baseball bat in petrol and threw it on top of a shed.
He told his family what he had done and his father then alerted gardaí.
Broughan was arrested and made full admissions in custody while declining a solicitor.
He said he was "best friends with Roy", but his intention was to kill another man too.
He described Mr Hopkins as "a gentleman who treated him like a son".
However, he admitted that he had texted him after the attack, asking: "How’s the head?"
He told gardaí that if Mr Hopkins had answered the message then he would have gone back to "finish him off".
Broughan said he was satisfied Mr Hopkins was dead after leaving him.
Broughan was 25 at the time he committed the murder.
The father of three children lived with his parents and was single at the time.
He was badly burned in a bonfire as a ten-year-old child, was in hospital for a year and had skin grafts.
The court heard Broughan was addicted to Solpadeine.
Mr Hopkins was well liked and respected in Rathangan and was well known for his fishing hobby.
Mr Justice Hunt said he did not think anyone "could fail to be moved by the effect this horrendous crime had on the family".
"All I can say is it illustrates that very bad things happen to very good people," he added.
He said the kindness of the people who came to attend Mr Hopkins as he lay dying by the canal was notable.
He described them as very humane people and commended the other people who co-operated with gardaí, including the Broughan family.
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