Man jailed for six-and-a-half years for manslaughter of man on stag party in Athlone
Paul 'Babs' Connolly, a 48-year-old single man from Edenderry, Co Offaly, was assaulted for 21 minutes with punches and kicks by Seán Munnelly, 40, of Athlone, and David Higgins of Athlone, in the early hours of 13 August 2022 on Church Street in Athlone, Co Westmeath, while on a stag party. Connolly was knocked to the ground three times and died in an ambulance on the way to hospital, with a postmortem attributing his death to cardiac arrest from blunt force trauma to the head in a setting of acute intoxication. Munnelly, who had 102 previous convictions and was on bail and a suspended sentence at the time, changed his plea to guilty of manslaughter in June 2024 just before a jury was to be empanelled. He was sentenced at Mullingar Circuit Court in October 2026 to seven years with the final six months suspended, backdated to 27 February 2024, while Higgins had previously been jailed for one year for assault causing harm and violent disorder.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In courtnot reported
- Verdictnot reported
- Sentenced16 Oct
2 reports
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Connolly was assaulted for 21 minutes with punches and kicks by Munnelly and Higgins after becoming separated from his stag party group.
- Connolly was knocked to the ground three times during the physical altercations.
- Connolly died in an ambulance on the way to hospital; a postmortem found cardiac arrest resulting from blunt force trauma to the head in a setting of acute intoxication and emotional stress.
- Where
- The assault took place along Church Street in Athlone, Co Westmeath.
- When
- The incident occurred in the early hours of 13 August 2022.
- Cause
- A child pornography remark was the catalyst that triggered the altercation between Connolly and the two men.
- Other details
- Connolly had been refused entry to a number of establishments in Athlone earlier that night due to his state of intoxication.
- Munnelly was an unemployed father of one, on bail and a suspended sentence at the time of the incident, and had been drinking and snorting cocaine; he had 102 previous convictions.
- Charges
- Munnelly pleaded guilty to manslaughter, changing his plea in June 2024 just before a jury was to be empanelled for an anticipated four-week trial.
- In court
- Munnelly was sentenced at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court.
- Sentence
- Munnelly received a sentence of seven years with the final six months suspended, backdated to 27 February 2024, after the judge set a headline sentence of eight-and-a-half years before reducing it.
- David Higgins was previously jailed for one year for assault causing harm to Connolly and engaging in violent disorder.
18 statements extracted from the articles
- whatVideo evidence showed the deceased was knocked to the ground three times by Munnelly and a co-accused. (irishtimes.com)
- whatConnolly died in an ambulance on the way to hospital. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe judge noted there had been a number of kicks and punches and did not regard the fatality as resulting from a single blow. (irishtimes.com)
- whatConnolly fell three times during physical altercations involving punches and kicks with two men. (irishtimes.com)
- whatConnolly was refused entry to a number of establishments in Athlone earlier that night due to his state of intoxication. (irishtimes.com)
- whatConnolly was on a stag party at the time of the incident. (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe assault took place along Church Street in Athlone, Co Westmeath. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe assault lasted 21 minutes in the early hours of 13 August 2022. (irishtimes.com)
- whenConnolly died in the early hours of 13 August 2022 on Church Street. (irishtimes.com)
- causeThe child pornography remark was the catalyst that triggered Munnelly and a co-accused. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeMunnelly pleaded guilty to manslaughter. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceThe sentence was backdated to 27 February 2024 to account for time served on remand. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceMunnelly was sentenced to seven years with the final six months suspended at Mullingar Circuit Court. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceDavid Higgins was previously jailed for one year for assault causing harm and violent disorder. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceThe judge set a headline sentence of eight-and-a-half years before reducing it. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMunnelly was an unemployed father of one, out on bail and on a suspended sentence at the time, and had been drinking and snorting cocaine. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMunnelly changed his plea to guilty in June just as a jury was about to be empanelled for an anticipated four-week trial. (irishtimes.com)
- otherMunnelly had 102 previous convictions. (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 16 Oct2026Man who delivered ‘final strike’ in death of man on stag jailed for six-and-a-half years
Reports the sentencing of Seán Munnelly for manslaughter and provides details of the incident, the judge's reasoning, aggravating and mitigating factors, and the prior sentencing of co-accused David Higgins.
victim, 48, male, irish (judged from name)convicted, Seán Munnelly, 40, male, named, irish (judged from name)Seán Munnellyconvicted, David Higgins, male, named, irish (judged from name)David Higgins - 16 Oct2026Man jailed for stag-night killing after 21-minute violent assault
Provides full sentencing details including the judge's remarks on video evidence, aggravating and mitigating factors, the accused's prior bail and suspended sentence status, 102 previous convictions, and victim impact statements from the Connolly family.
victim, 48, male, irish (judged from name)convicted, Sean Munnelly, 40, male, named, irish (judged from name)Sean Munnelly