A 21-year-old man has been jailed for life for the murder of a father-of-five who was attacked with a golf club outside his home last year.

Last month, Alex Deady was found guilty of the murder of Barry Daly, 44, who was found in a pool of blood at Rockview Terrace, Doneraile, Co. Cork, in the early hours of October 12, 2025.

His 17-year-old co-accused was also found guilty of murder at a retrial last month after the jury in the first trial, which began in June, found themselves unable to reach a verdict in the case.

A third defendant, aged 16, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the course of the first murder trial. His plea was accepted.

Mr Daly suffered a catastrophic jaw injury which left him unable to breathe as he was effectively swallowing blood.

Assistant State pathologist Dr Margot Bolster told the jury that Daly died of injuries which were inflicted with a golf club. A dispute arose after Mr Daly hit Deady’s partner. Accounts varied as to whether it was an accident or on purpose.

Yesterday at the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Cork, Judge Siobhan Lankford said that the ‘community of Doneraile changed forever’ following the murder of Mr Daly, which was described as a tragedy for all of the families involved as well as the town itself.

She said it was clear from the victim impact statements that Mr Daly was an ‘exceptional’ person who showed tremendous kindness to others in his ‘all-too-short life’.

The judge said: ‘[In his work as a postman] he was considerate of older people who may not have had anyone else. One elderly man said that he made time to chat with him and to bring him the newspaper. He said he felt he was alone as never before [following the death of Mr Daly].’

Judge Lankford said his death left a ‘huge hole’ in the lives of his family and of that of his partner Katie O’Reilly. She added that the attack was ‘not a prolonged action’. However, it was ‘brutal’ in nature, she said.

A letter of apology from Deady, of Glenview, Convent Road, Doneraile, to the Daly family was previously read into the record. Deady said what had occurred was never his intended outcome.

He said that he understood that Mr Daly’s children were without a father because of him. He added: ‘I think about it daily and will for the rest of my life. I understand “sorry” will never bring Barry Daly back.’

Judge Lankford noted that Deady had offered a plea to manslaughter in the case which was not accepted by the DPP. She said that while he acknowledged he caused the death, he didn’t accept he had the intention to kill.

She said there was no option in the case but to impose a sentence of life imprisonment. The judge praised gardaí for carrying out an ‘extraordinary’ investigation and she offered her condolences to the family of the deceased following their unimaginable loss.

Meanwhile, probation reports from the 17-year-old and 16-year-old accused also detailed their feelings of deep sadness about what had occurred.

Counsel Ray Boland made a submission on behalf of the 16-year-old who pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Daly. He said the teenager had a ‘lesser role’ than his two co-accused and had no involvement with the initial dispute with Mr Daly.

The youth, who has no previous convictions, is ‘getting on well’ at Oberstown where he is completing various courses, it was heard.

Alice Fawsitt, representing the 17-year-old who was convicted of murder, said her client had written a letter of apology to the Daly family. In the letter, he said he wasn’t asking for forgiveness as he can’t forgive himself.

Ms Fawsitt said he would like to work in Oberstown following the completion of his sentence if his criminal conviction doesn’t prove to be a stumbling block. She added that he was ‘very ashamed’ of his actions and ‘genuinely remorseful.’

Both youths were remanded in Obserstown Detention Centre for sentencing on September 11. At a previous hearing of the case, Katie O’Reilly, who was Mr Daly’s partner for 20 years, said that once they found each other they ‘never left each other’s side’.

Ms O’Reilly said Father’s Day now means bringing their children to his grave with balloons. She added: ‘No child should ever spend Father’s Day standing at a graveyard missing their dad. Barry has already missed so much. He missed Bodhi’s first day of preschool. He will miss school achievements, graduations, first cars, first jobs, weddings and grandchildren.

‘Bodhi was only three [when his father died]. He still runs to the door when it knocks, shouting for his daddy.’

She said their son Jaxon contracted bacterial meningitis when he was three days old and spent two months in neo-natal care fighting for his life. Fortunately, he survived. Barry was her ‘strength’ during that period, she said. She added that they planned to run away and get married quietly one day.

They talked about ‘improving the house’ and growing old together. Ms O’Reilly said: ‘He spoke often about grandchildren and joked that after all boys he deserved some granddaughters.’