Seven years for killer of child and father in Kerry branded 'a joke'
And Daughter Died Tralee O'brien (right) Nadine His Fire O'brien Who In The In Anthony
A mother whose husband and little girl were killed in a house fire cried "this is a joke" in court on Thursday after the double killer was jailed for six-and-a-half years.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott at the Central Criminal Court told the family of Anthony O'Brien and five-year-old Nadine O'Brien at the start of his sentencing remarks that nothing he does will remedy their grief and that the law is a "blunt instrument" that does not remove the suffering they continue to endure.
He said it was a "shocking and horrific case" but there is a scope to the sentence that the court can impose.
The judge noted that Philip Griffin (aged 37), a criminal with 41 previous convictions, did not start the fire that caused the deaths, but saw it being lit and left without doing anything to raise the alarm even though he knew there could be people in the house.
The victims' family have been left with a "lifelong burden to bear", he said, particularly Kelly O'Brien who lost her husband and child.
The judge also considered Griffin's 41 previous convictions, including assault causing harm, robbery, escape from lawful custody, possession of drugs for sale or supply, criminal damage and possession of a knife.
Noting that Griffin pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of gross negligence, the judge imposed a headline sentence of 11 years.
However, he further noted that the crime would not have come to light had Griffin not come forward 10 years later, in May 2022, to admit his part. Until then it had been treated as an "accidental fire" following a finding by the Coroner's Court.
Considering all mitigating factors, including Griffin's expressions of remorse, the judge reduced the sentence to one of seven years with the final six months suspended.
Speaking outside the court, Kelly O'Brien said: "I'm in shock, disgusted. It's not as if my child passed in her sleep. My child woke up and had to fight."
She said Griffin will serve no more than four years and seven months and that the fire was "all because of him, he involved the other man, he brought the other man to our home, he didn't alert anyone, he didn't try and quench the fire, he didn't do anything."
She said she fought for justice alone for 12 years while her child's killer gets to continue his life.
She added: "He’s a coward and I hope to God that karma comes around and he gets the same death as he gave my husband and child because by god they suffered and four years and seven months is a joke."
Philip Griffin (aged 37), of no fixed abode but originally from Tralee in Co Kerry, previously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Anthony O'Brien (aged 30) and Nadine O'Brien (aged 5) at Killeen Heights in Tralee on May 12, 2012.