A ‘serious review’ of the tragic Clodagh Hawe murder case will go ahead

Following a public plea from the family of Clodagh Hawe for more information into the tragic death of her and her three sons, a case review into the murder is to be established.

According to reports and following a meeting at Garda Headquarters on Thursday, the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris told the family of Ms Hawe he had appointed Assistant Garda Commissioner Barry O’Brien to head the serious case review.

Related: ‘We have questions we need answered’: Family of Clodagh Hawe break silence on the tragic murder-suicide

Clodagh Hawe and her three sons were murdered by her husband Alan Hawe, who then also took his own life, in August 2016 in Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan.

Speaking to reporters outside Garda Headquarters in Dublin on Thursday evening, Jacqueline Connolly said they had a “very constructive” two and a half hour meeting with the commissioner.

“He has agreed to conduct a Serious Case Review headed up by the assistant Garda Commissioner Barry O’Brien. We look forward to being appraised of that process in two weeks time,” she said.

Clodagh Hawe’s family say their 2.5 hour meeting with the Garda Commissioner was “very constructive”. He’s agreed to establish a serious case review and will report back to them in 2 weeks: pic.twitter.com/mfXA4KHl3O

— Shane Beatty (@ShaneBeattyNews) March 7, 2019

On a special Prime Time show, the family called for a full inquiry to establish why they were killed and to highlight the lack of information and supports in such cases. Mother and sister to Clodagh, Mary and Jacqueline, said they had nowhere to turn following the devastating loss of her and her three sons.

Mary and Jacqueline said they considered themselves very private people, but felt they ‘owed it to Clodagh and the boys’ to find out what really happened on that night and why.

“We have to be her voice,” said Clodagh’s devastated mother in the documentary.

They added that they have been inundated with support from the public, for which they remain extremely grateful.

“From the bottom of our hearts we are thankful for that because we could have not gone ahead with this without the support of everyone around us,” said Ms Connolly, adding that they were also thankful for the media’s “respectful coverage around Clodagh, Liam, Niall and Ryan.”