Alison O’Riordan
The mother of Irish boxing champion Kevin Sheehy has said that his child, who was born after her father was brutally murdered, "will grow up knowing her daddy was a hero".
Tracey Tully, whose son Kevin was repeatedly run over by a jeep driven by UK man Logan Jackson, told the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday: "Logan Jackson has two and a half years done of his time, so that will come off his sentence. But so do I. I have two-and-a-half years done also. But I don't get out."
She told the court she does not "get a day off or a minute's peace to breathe", knowing how "brutally" her son's life was taken.
Mrs Tully also spoke of the joy Kevin felt when he knew that he was becoming "a daddy" for the first time to a little girl.
"He was counting the days and weeks; he was so proud in the shop walking up and down the aisle rolling her pram, and he did not care that it was pink".
"That was the last thing he got to do for Kevaeh, he never got to see Kevaeh come into the world or hold Kevaeh and see her beautiful face as everything was robbed from him and Kevaeh on July 1st 2019," said Mrs Tully.
"The only comfort in life right now is the beautiful gift he left us. His beautiful daughter Kevaeh Gracie. Her piercing blue eyes, just like you; her curly hair, just like you. Although she was surrounded by grief, she has an amazing ability just like her daddy to be funny and happy.
"She's such a little character. Kevaeh lost her daddy that she has never met, but she has so many memories around our city. She will grow up knowing her daddy was a hero," she said.
The testimony was heard as part of an emotional victim impact statement read on Tuesday to the Central Criminal Court, where 31-year-old Jackson was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment for murdering Mr Sheehy.
Unanimous verdict
Jackson, of Longford Road, Coventry, England was found guilty last Monday by unanimous jury verdict of murdering Mr Sheehy (20) at Hyde Road in Limerick city on July 1st, 2019. He had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter.
The defendant, who has a prosthetic leg, was also found guilty last week on a second charge of endangerment. A concurrent sentence of seven years was imposed on this count on Tuesday.
Jackson had denied intentionally or recklessly engaging in conduct which created a substantial risk of death or serious harm to others to wit; driving a Mitsubishi jeep vehicle dangerously at high speed in the direction of pedestrians on the same occasion.
The Central Criminal Court trial heard that the five times Irish boxing champion fought to get up off the ground after he was first hit but the UK-registered Mitsubishi Shogun jeep ran him over twice again at speed.
The jury agreed with the prosecution's case that Jackson had deployed his jeep as a murder weapon "as sure and as clear" as if it was a gun or a knife.
