Devil dad Alan Hawe feared a ‘fall from grace’ over a ‘sexual matter’ before butchering his family
Psychiatrist tells inquest Hawe had a 'severe depressive episode with psychotic symptoms' but his wife's family maintain he meticulously planned the murder of her and their three kids
KILLER dad Alan Hawe hid a dark secret over a "sexual matter" that he feared could lead to a "fall from grace" and the breakdown in his marriage, it has emerged.
The deputy school principal slaughtered his wife Clodagh and their three sons before taking his own life at their home in Cavan, Ireland, in August 2016.
A three-page suicide note the murderer penned before undertaking the massacre was handed to the jury in the inquest yesterday - but full details of what it contained were not revealed to the court.
It is thought the note referred to his fears of being exposed for an unknown matter, alleged to be sexual, and the knock-on effects of this on his family.
Psychotherapist David McConnell, who was treating Hawe, told the inquest the killer had been “stressed” the last day he had seen him in June 2016.
He said the vice-principal had wept and said to him: “People think of me as a pillar of the community. If only they knew.”
An inquest jury yesterday returned verdicts of unlawful killing in the cases of Clodagh and her sons, while a verdict of suicide was returned for Hawe.
Twisted Hawe, 40, used knives, a hatchet and his bare hands to slay his teacher wife Clodagh, 39, and their children Liam, 14, Niall, 11, and Ryan, six, before he took his own life.
Clodagh’s sister Jacqueline Connolly and mum Mary Coll said in a statement: “We are aware that he was concerned at his imminent fall from that position and the breakdown of his marriage.”
A leading psychiatric expert had been asked to review the suicide note and said he believed Hawe was troubled, depressed and severely mentally ill in the months before the deaths.
Professor Harry Kennedy, a consultant forensic psychiatrist and director of the Central Mental Hospital, told the hearing he believed that at the time Hawe carried out the murder-suicide, he had progressed from long-term depression to a severe depressive episode with psychotic symptoms.
But rather than being the sudden actions of a deranged madman, Clodagh’s family believe Hawe had a coldly calculating mind.
The Coll family maintain Hawe meticulously planned the murder of his wife and kids — and do not believe the slaughter was the action of someone who just suddenly had a breakdown.
The Irish Sun previously revealed Hawe transferred thousands of euro of family funds to his own account after he murdered his wife and kids.
The school vice-principal had gone to the trouble of penning his suicide note in advance and even clearing his planned murder path of furniture.
And the Irish Sun understands that during the height of the bloody massacre he took time out to “put his affairs in order” by laying the family’s financial files on the kitchen table.
Mary and Jacqueline said in their statement: “While the psychiatrist has attempted as best he could to create a retrospective diagnosis based on items and records, his GP who knew him for five years said he never displayed any signs of depression.”
Hawe killed his wife and eldest son first, , the inquest heard.
Mary and Jacqueline added: “On August 29, 2016, we lost our daughter and sister Clodagh and her lovely sons Liam, Niall and Ryan in the most horrific circumstances.
“They were savagely and brutally killed by Alan Hawe in a premeditated and calculated manner.
“We are aware that the inquest has a limited role in law in that its function is restricted to establishing how, where and when our loved ones died.
“However, it is clear from the evidence presented that Clodagh and the boys were killed in a sequence that ensured that the eldest and most likely to provide effective resistance were killed first, and that they were executed in a manner which rendered them unable to cry out for help.
"The inquest does not address why Alan Hawe committed this savagery but his counsellor has said that he was concerned about his position as ‘a pillar of the community’ and we are aware that he was concerned at his imminent fall from that position and the breakdown of his marriage.”
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Clodagh was found with axe and stab wounds in her pyjamas and dressing gown on the living-room sofa of the family home near Ballyjamesduff.
The boys, who died from stab wounds, were discovered upstairs in their beds. Yesterday the inquest at Cavan courthouse heard that Hawe had seen counsellor McConnell and his GP in the months before the murder-suicide.
Alan Hawe's parents say 'doors of death opened'
ALAN Hawe’s parents have spoken about their son’s killing spree and declared: “Death’s dark door opened.”
A statement from Stephen and Olive Hawe was read as the inquest drew to a close yesterday.
Stephen and Olive did not attend the two-day inquest at Cavan Coroner’s Court as harrowing evidence was revealed of their son’s horrific crime.
But the couple released a statement through their solicitor Michael Lanigan.
They said: “Last August we received news no family should ever have to hear.
“In one night we lost three beautiful grandchildren, a beloved daughter- in-law and our son Alan.
“Death’s dark door opened and we have struggled over the last 16 months to comprehend how this came to pass.
“We have had some light shed upon that darkness with the insight gained from thorough examination of the report of Professor Harry Kennedy and his opinion that Alan suffered from severe depressive illness.
“It does not make the pain and loss any easier for us.
“We thank all those who have taken the time in the last year to contact us with messages of support and prayer from all parts of the country, they have brought us great solace.”