A “respected” school vice principal carried out a murder-suicide, killing his wife and children nine years ago, with the victim’s sister now providing harrowing insight into his motives.
Alan Hawe, 40, brutally murdered his family in August 2016, slaying his children Liam, 13, Niall, 11, and Ryan, six, as they slept, after killing his wife, Clodagh, with a hatchet, knife and his bare hands in their County Cavan home in Ireland.
Jacqueline Connolly, Clodagh’s sister, has now released a memoir titled Deadly Silence and discussed Hawe’s pornography addiction, which she believes was a significant factor in his heinous acts.
Speaking to RTE Radio One, she said: “I suppose it would be social death if anybody found out that he had that addiction,” and expressed her shock upon discovering this aspect of Hawe’s life, describing him as “I couldn’t believe it when I was told. You know, to me, Alan was boring. He was socially inept. Holier than thou. He was very much involved in the church and the community, the GAA (Irish football) club.
“I couldn’t believe it when I was told. You know, to me, Alan was boring. He was socially inept. Holier than thou. He was very much involved in the church and the community, the GAA (Irish football) club.
“And the go-to man if anybody wanted anything done, the vice principal of the school. He was very much respected. And so if this was to come out, it was going to bring on a lot of shame.”
Asked if this secret played a role in his appalling actions, she added: “Absolutely. The Serious Crime Review Team have revealed the evidence behind all of that. You’ve placed yourself as a brilliant father, husband and colleague. The shame of what he was looking at, to him, was the end of the world.”
Hawe family
Hawe, a man once seen as a devout Catholic and vice principal at Castlerahan National School in County Cavan, lived a double life. His wife, Clodagh, also rooted in education, worked as a “wonderful, dedicated and caring teacher for pupils” at Oristown National School in County Meath.
To those on the outside, Hawe appeared to be a “pillar of the community”, yet behind closed doors, he dressed in his wife’s clothing, browsed Russian dating sites, and was entangled in pornography addiction. He used hidden email accounts to indulge in pornographic material, some of which involved indecent images of children.
Ireland’s largest murder-suicide
Clodagh was caught unaware, reportedly enjoying a cup of tea and looking up family holiday destinations when Hawe mercilessly murdered her.
Her sister Jacqueline shared the chilling details: “He came in behind her and he hit her in the head with the axe and he stabbed her in the back and she put up her hand to defend herself and he basically nearly sawed her hand off.
“He killed her like he hated her. He didn’t need to use two weapons, he killed her with such brutality it was evil. He then sat down and he wrote the letter because he had left the axe and knife on the floor. He took up a new knife and went upstairs.”
Hawe composed a suicide note before taking another knife, ascending upstairs to his sons’ bedrooms where he cut their throats as they slept. Afterwards, he returned downstairs to write another letter.
Hawe, who ended his own life hours after the event, wrote in a chilling confession: “All the good stuff we did I was really into it. But I think there was some sort of psychosis that made me enjoy that yet in the next moment I was the complete opposite. I’m sorry for how I murdered them all but I simply had no other way.”
Jacqueline, in a harrowing account of the murders of her newphews, courageously said: “We know he put his knee on Liam’s chest and cut through his windpipe to render him silent. Niall was sharing a room with Liam so Niall probably wouldn’t have woken up because Liam couldn’t scream out but he had defensive wounds on his hands.
“He did the same to Niall and then he went to Ryan’s room. Ryan was the smallest of the three of them. He was very slight and thin for his age but during the inquest we were told that [Hawe] used a sawing action on Ryan and then he just threw a duvet cover over all of them and left the knife that he used on Ryan’s pillow. That is evil. That is not depression. That is force brutality and it is control.”
Further grim details emerged when a state pathologist suggested Hawe may have targeted the children’s Adam’s apples to prevent them from screaming.
Secret shame
In a haunting revelation from his suicide note, Hawe mentioned being “caught red-handed” and expressed his fear of returning to school as he anticipated “it was all going to blow up”.
Reflecting on his words, Jacqueline revisited his letter and concluded with a heavy heart: “I don’t see it any way other than he enjoyed what he did.”
The teacher was receiving counselling for his pornography addiction and notes indicated that he “masturbated somewhere he shouldn’t have – possibly school”.
Following his passing, the school’s legal representatives stated there was no proof that he engaged in viewing pornography during school hours. However, it is thought that his decision to kill his entire family stemmed from a fear of his secrets being exposed.
In her memoir, Jacqueline expresses her conviction that the gardai (Irish police) failed to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the deaths and is urging officials to release the results of a subsequent inquiry by the Serious Crime Review Team.
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email [email protected], visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
