Kildare man gets jailed for life for murder of Offaly victim

Three men in their 20s have been handed life sentences for the murder of a 64-year-old man in Co. Offaly.

Thomas ‘Toddy’ Dooley (pictured) was beaten to death with a baseball bat in his home in Edenderry in February 2014.

James Davy of Thornhill Meadows in Celbridge, Co Kildare, Sean Davy of Clonmullen Drive in Edenderry and Matthew Cummins of Churchview Heights, Edenderry were convicted in August.

In a Victim Impact Statement, Thomas Dooley’s family said they were “horrified and shocked by his cruel and heartless death”.

At Mr Dooley's Funeral Mass in 2014, Fr Greg Corcoran described the victim as a “quiet and inoffensive man” who was often seen pushing his mother around Edenderry in a wheelchair when she was alive.

Gifts brought to the altar during the service included a chess board as he was a gifted player, a sod of turf for his love of the bog and a pack of cards.

Mr Dooley's remains were laid to rest in St Mary’s Cemetery in Edenderry.