A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for stabbing another young man to death in a Co Clare nightclub just over five years ago.
Nathan O’Neill, from Dooradoyle in Limerick, was 19 when he stabbed Jamie Higgins, 23, five times at Shannon Knights nightclub in the early hours of March 18, 2018, reports RTE.
The court heard that O’Neill went to the nightclub with his girlfriend. Jamie Higgins was there with some friends.
There was a story between the two men. O’Neill told the Gardaí that he had been harassed and harassed by Higgins.
Earlier in the evening, O’Neill was beaten up by Mr. Higgins at the nightclub and was upset about it. O’Neill left the club, returning about an hour later with a knife, reports RTE.
A fight broke out again in the club. O’Neill drew the knife and stabbed Mr. Higgins five times. He stabbed Jamie Higgins’ friend, Michael Shannon, three times.
He was detained in the weeds of a nearby field after fleeing the club.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and, after a trial, the jury found him guilty of murder, reports RTE.
The judge said that O’Neill had committed several offenses prior to the murder that suggested a history of gun possession.
He said O’Neill left the club and returned armed with a knife, which he pulled out and used repeatedly in a situation where the other two men were unarmed, reports RTE.
In mitigation, he said O’Neill fully cooperated with the Gardaí, pleaded guilty early and showed genuine remorse.
Both the defendant and the deceased are very young men, the judge said.
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