WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Clodagh Hawe and her kids, Liam, Niall and Ryan were killed in Ireland’s largest murder-suicide – the victim’s sister has now published a memoir called Deadly Silence
A “respected” school vice principal massacred his wife and kids in a murder-suicide nine years ago – and the victim’s sister has offered harrowing insight into why he did it.
Alan Hawe, 40, cut the throats of his children, Liam, 13, Niall, 11, and Ryan, six, as they slept in their beds in August 2016. This was after murdering his wife, Clodagh, with a hatchet, knife and his bare hands downstairs in the family sitting room in County Cavan, Ireland.
Jacqueline Connolly, Clodagh’s sister, published a memoir this month called Deadly Silence, and has spoken about Hawe’s porn addiction. She believes the exposure of this secret was a key reason for his sickening crime.
“I suppose it would be social death if anybody found out that he had that addiction,” she told RTE Radio One.
“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.”
As for whether this influenced his abhorrent 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.”
The Hawe family
Alan Hawe, described as a devout Catholic, worked in the local Castlerahan National School as a vice principal. Clodagh also worked in education for Oristown National School in County Meath where she was described as a “wonderful, dedicated and caring teacher for pupils”.
From the outside, supposed “pillar of the community” Hawe looked like a model citizen, but behind closed doors he scanned Russian dating sites, secretly dressed in his wife’s underwear and was addicted to watching porn. He used hidden email accounts to watch porn and this included indecent images of children.
Ireland’s largest murder-suicide
Clodagh was reportedly drinking tea and browsing family holidays when Hawe brutally murdered her.
Describing her sister’s final moments, Jacqueline said: “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.”
After penning the suicide note, Hawe picked up a second knife and went upstairs to slice the throats of his boys who were sleeping. Leaving them in their beds, he went back downstairs to write a second note.
Hawe, who took his own life hours later, wrote: “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.”
And giving horrific details about the murder of her nephews, Jacqueline bravely 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.”
It was later revealed by a state pathologist that Hawe may have stabbed the children in their Adam’s apples to stop them screaming.
Secret shame
In his suicide letter, he spoke of being “caught red-handed” and that he “dreaded” returning to school because “it was all going to blow up”.
Jacqueline said she had gone back on his letter in recent times and concluded: “I don’t see it any way other than he enjoyed what he did.”
He was seeing a counsellor about his porn addiction, with notes revealing the teacher “masturbated somewhere he shouldn’t have – possibly school”.
After his death, solicitors for the school he worked in said there was no evidence that he watched pornography during the school day. But his choice to massacre his whole family was believed to be made out of fear that his secrets would be outed publicly.
In Jacqueline’s memoir, she writes of her belief that gardai (Irish police) did not investigate the deaths thoroughly, and is calling on authorities to publish findings from a second investigation led 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.