Sligo property tycoon jailed for savagely beating three innocent teenagers

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:02]A well-known Siggo property tycoon has been jailed for two years for savagely beating three teenage boys he wrongly blamed for breaking a window. Kahal O Connor choked one boy until he lost consciousness, threatened another with a saw and used an iron bar to hit one in the face. Today I'm talking to Crime World's Alan Cherry about Okconor's violent attack and how an XTD gave him a character reference. I'm Nile Donald and this is Crimeworld, a podcast from crimeworld.com.

[00:00:35]So, when the details of this case first started coming in, it actually sounded unbelievable. Uh, you know, the level of violence inflicted on these three teenagers like it it actually didn't sound it almost sounded incredible. But of course, it has been proven to be absolutely what happened. Now, you've written a series of stories about Kot Okconor, a Siggo businessman who's been convicted of attacking these three teenagers, and you also have a very interesting story about a former uh TD Mark MSari, who who gave him a character reference. And of course, character references have been particularly uh controversial in recent times for for people before the courts. But I suppose go back to the start, Alan, and tell us Kot Connor, what you know, what is he being convicted of exactly?

[00:01:22]>> Yeah. Well, Kylo Connor, he's he's he was done for assault causing harm to three-year-old boys um down at one of his family's businesses in the uh the Northwest Business Park in Siggo in 2024. It was >> Now, Carlo Connor is a very well-known property developer in the Siggo area and stretching >> and wider. Yeah. Dublin everywhere like you know he he's kind of head of this group of companies called Belair Homes.

[00:01:46]Yeah. So, he'd be director of 20 plus different companies. you know, we love different ones for different projects all set up, but it's a big a big property development firm.

[00:01:54]>> Yeah. It's not it's not a guy, you know, developing a couple of houses and stuff.

[00:01:57]>> No, no, no. These are these are estates all over the place. Yeah. Yeah. This is much bigger.

[00:02:01]>> And he's what is he 33, is he or something like that?

[00:02:03]>> He's 40 now.

[00:02:04]>> Sorry. 40. Yeah. So, he's still a young man and what happens is there's he he comes across three three teenagers basically in this >> three 13 year olds just just into their teens. you know, they've been in primary school a few months before this, just to give the context of of the ages of these kids.

[00:02:21]>> Yeah, these are very young, >> really, really young kids. And he accuses them of uh >> breaking windows windows, which they didn't do, which is the the kind of weird thing in all this is he he basically arrives along at the at the the site with it. It was a company that did porter cabins for for construction sites and uh and skills and stuff like that. So, it's kind of >> in an industrial state there in Siggo.

[00:02:41]There's porter cabins lying around. He came along. I think it was a stag night.

[00:02:46]The night before he was driving back and he' taken to kind of going in and checking on the yard to see if everyone was okay. And when he when he arrived at the yard, there were broken windows. So he seen a broken window in a port cabin.

[00:02:56]>> Yeah.

[00:02:56]>> He got out of the car and he had a look around. He heard some kids voices nearby by and um he he came across basically one kid first and then another one um and he grabbed the first kid and you know basically accused him of >> smashing windows and all that and he told him he hadn't done it which was true. who he hadn't actually broken any windows. It was it was two other kids who were who were there earlier in the day that nothing to do with the other.

[00:03:20]>> So he grabbed the kids, dragged them across the yard, um kind of forced them up against a a container. He was holding them. He was choking at them. He was kneing them. He was attacking them. This was all going on by but by this stage.

[00:03:32]He'd called two of his friends to come down to the site.

[00:03:35]>> Yeah.

[00:03:36]>> One of them arrived, Simon Kavana. Um he arrived in a van. He kind of stood there. He held one of the boys while um Call attacked the other one basically essentially um and and then started grilling them saying who else was here with you started going through their phones you know while hitting them and while kneing them and CCTV shows all this new Okconor would later tell Gardy a very different story which was disproved by the CCTV which came in very late but um >> he he was attacking them quite violently um he he he basically said who else was here which They knew that there was two boys earlier on who had who had uh smashed windows who were there, but they didn't have phone numbers for them. They weren't really good friends with them, but they had been down at the site earlier on.

[00:04:22]>> They had a phone number for another boy who was with them, but he didn't actually smash windows either. So like they they b he basically got them to lure one of the the other boys back to the warehouse um because he wanted to batter him as well, even though they told him he didn't do anything. Yeah. So So eventually there was three boys at different stages in the warehouse.

[00:04:39]>> Yeah. So I mean like whatever about somebody reacting and and you know totally unjustified anyway >> even if they've broken the windows is >> which they like and not that that would be a justification justification but so whatever happens he maybe something hap you could say something might have happened a rush of blood as he jumps out of his car >> but in fact this goes on for 48 minutes and then he brings him inside the warehouse and that's when the really like really really shockingly sinister >> Yeah that's when it starts sounding like a like a a Tarantino film almost because he he he brings them into the warehouse.

[00:05:13]Um he he slams one of them down on a table on his back. Um he throws he tells the other one to sit down on I think there was a keg beside it. So the chap is on the young is on the table. Can't see him down. He's lying down on the table. He he pulls out a saw.

[00:05:28]>> Yeah.

[00:05:28]>> Um and he starts telling them which one of your or he turns around to Cavin says, "Which one of his legs will I chop off first?" And he started rubbing the the saw against his body. Um, at the boy, it's like a 13-year-old boy. He was crying and screaming and and and I'm pleading for his life cuz he thought he was going to die. So, he's rubbing this against his legs, going, "Which leg am I going to cut off first?" He brings it up to his neck. He's rubbing the saw against his neck and says, "I'm going to I'm going to kill you. I'm going to chop off your head." And the boy believes him. Yeah. And and all the while Kavanaaugh, I should point out, is kind of telling them, "Do you know who I am?

[00:05:58]I own this town. I own the guard before telling >> Okconor is is saying that." Sorry. Conor is the one saying, >> "Do you know who I am? I own this town.

[00:06:08]I own the guards. I've killed someone before and I've put him in a ditch when he crossed me."

[00:06:12]>> Yeah.

[00:06:13]>> Now, there's no suggestion. He has killed anyone before, but he was telling people, he was telling the kids this, and they believed them. They're 13-year-old boys who are being battered by him and have a saw put to their head and all this sort of stuff.

[00:06:23]>> So, he's telling them all this. So, they are terrified for their lives. They're still telling them, "Listen, we didn't break the windows, you know. Um, but he like he doesn't believe them." So, he continues on. Um, so he's he's got one of the boys down. He's doing all that stuff with the saw. He's he's he's choked one of them to learn conscious and they're kind of passing out, coming through. He's hidden them again. He gets Cavana then to go off in a van and look for another boy who was with them. And once again, this third boy didn't break any windows. Not to justify it, but >> so they they they got the boys to to basically lure him back and say, "Tell him to come back to the warehouse. Don't say anything's wrong. Tell him." And like it's basically forced the the the two other boys to do that. So he was on his way to the warehouse. Cavana goes off in the van, sees that other kid along the way, and then brings him back.

[00:07:07]Now, that that third kid thought that it was the other boy's father. He didn't realize it was Cavana, didn't know what was going on, so he hopped in the van.

[00:07:15]>> Yeah.

[00:07:15]>> Um and and went back. Um >> so he brought him back and then brought him in and started beating Living Daylights out of him then as well. Like I think it was a third kid. He was punching him in the face repeatedly in his in his statement to guards. The kid talked about how like there was blood coming out of his nose and that blood was actually on O' Conor's fists. Um he's choking him. Um he picked up an iron bar and hit him in the head with it. Um >> shocking. Incredible.

[00:07:43]>> One of the other kids was saying that he was the one who went in the van to find the third kid. He said he could hear the first kid who was in there screaming when he was outside in the van. And then he could hear the second or the third kid if you will screaming as well. Like so these screams could be heard outside.

[00:07:58]It should be pointed out while all this is happening um Okconor's wife was in the in his Porsche which he parked up in the yard and at one stage she actually got out of the uh the car to uh take pictures and video the attack on the kids. Um her kid was in the car as well.

[00:08:13]Their kid was in the car and so was uh Cavana's kid was in his car. Yeah.

[00:08:18]>> Which is bizarre like considering what what they were doing to the kids >> that they their children were in the car while all this was happening.

[00:08:24]>> So as I said that this all goes on for 48 minutes. I mean genuinely terrifying.

[00:08:28]I mean we we we report on these sort of things but they tend to involve you know drug gangs intimidating other drug gang members of this manner not businessmen.

[00:08:39]>> So this happens what's the the time frame of this when is this attack occurring? This is >> well this like in in terms of it's the 18th of March 2024.

[00:08:48]>> 2024. So they obviously then the boys got home presumably they tell their parents.

[00:08:53]>> Well actually no it's even weirder than that. So, so Kavanaaugh had gone off again >> to they they didn't have any uh phone number for one of the boys who did smash the windows, but Kavanaaugh went off to uh to in the van again with one of the kids cuz they knew where he lived, I think. And uh >> Kavanaaugh called into the the mother's house and said, "Your son's after breaking windows down in in this warehouse, blahy blah." And the the mother who didn't know obviously at this stage that other kids were being battered blue, black and blue in the warehouse was just apologetic and said, "Okay, I'll come down to the warehouse.

[00:09:25]I'll pay for the damage. It's all fine."

[00:09:27]>> So she came down to the warehouse.

[00:09:30]>> She could see kids were upset like he obviously wasn't punching them or anything in front of them. See, they were upset, but thought it was because, you know, they've been given out to Yeah. And she thought there was actually another man who came down who wasn't charged, Shane Gaffne. He was called by Okconor as well. Not charged with anything in relation, didn't attack the kids, but he did kind of ask them who they were, where they were from, that kind of stuff, but was never charged in relation to it. So, he was there at this stage as well. So, that mother who came down, she saw that there was a lot of people there. Obviously, uh Klo Connor<unk>'s wife was there, >> Kavanaaugh was there, this other chap Gavin was there. She assumed they were all parents of the kids, so assumed everything was fine.

[00:10:07]>> That it was around this point basically that the the attack stopped.

[00:10:11]>> Yeah. And uh I should point out as well there was a girl um a 13-year-old girl who was there the whole time too. She was friends with the boys and she wasn't attacked but she was made watch.

[00:10:20]>> Yeah.

[00:10:21]>> Um now her mother later later said she was threatened as well but uh there was no charges brought. It was just in terms of what happened to the boys but um she wasn't physically attacked. So she was actually made watch the the whole thing and all the boys being beaten basically and standing there terrified and crying and screaming herself. I mean, it is incredible that he thought he was going to get away with this and you know, some of his arrogance.

[00:10:42]>> Well, it actually the arrogance comes through worse as well because like it gets worse. So, >> he basically it ends around that point.

[00:10:49]This is 48 minutes after it began. Um, he lets them go, you know, I'm letting you go basically. Uh, but you know, but this isn't the end of it.

[00:10:59]>> He tells them he'll kill them if they tell the guards about it, if they tell their parents about it. As he reiterates, he's killed before. He reiterates that he now it's a false claim but he's claiming he owns the guards so nothing would be done about it anyway. So there's no point in going to them. Yeah. They'll just bury it. Like not true obviously as you can see by the very fact he was he was prosecuted. But um >> he then he kept one of the boys phones and uh >> he actually and this is so bizarre. He rang up the mother of one of the boys and told her wrongly, even though at this stage now, he'd actually discovered those boys hadn't broken the windows.

[00:11:31]And he was aware of this, but he wouldn't let this into his head, except I suppose at that stage he later did.

[00:11:37]>> Um, he rang up one of the mothers and said, "Your son's after breaking windows in my warehouse." And she, once again, this is a mother, so she's just getting a call >> from some person she doesn't know. She thinks, "Oh my god, my son's after breaking windows." And she's like, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'll come."

[00:11:51]>> Shows you probably the caliber of people that these these victims lovely families. Yeah. As well. And we'll get into that later because there was an attempt to paint them very differently by people associated with Conor, but we can we can get into that later. But these are these these are very decent people and they're kind of very uh >> and you can see with that reaction because they're not they're not defending their kids saying that dare you who didn't do anything anyway. But like at that stage they thought they did.

[00:12:13]>> You can tell something by that that that >> Yeah. Well, exactly. They're all lovely families, very very very nice families.

[00:12:18]Um but so he called the mother and uh of one of the boys and said your son's after breaking windows. She said, "Oh my god, you know, I'm going to come down.

[00:12:26]Where are you?" Blahy blah. And he said, "Don't worry. I've let them go."

[00:12:29]>> And she said, "What do you mean let them go?" You know, and then she's like starting to get a bit worried by the way he's talking and all this. And said, >> I think he mentioned, "You're lucky my wife was in the car. I I would have really lost it." Now, I don't know what really lost it means to him, but if that's not what he did is not really losing it, I have no idea what he is, but anyway. So she came down looking for a son, but on the way she actually came across him on the road um and and and picked him up and stuff like that. And now the kids initially didn't want to say, but obviously there was marks on them and and and bruises and the parents got it out of them what had happened, you know, and the guards were called. Um now even when the the guards were in the house of one of the the victims of Connor uh I think he rang the phone of one of the family members again and he was getting very aggressive on it and the guard actually had to get onto the phone to him and tell him to present himself to Siggo Guard station.

[00:13:20]>> Yeah.

[00:13:20]>> There's a serious matter being investigated. Now he was still banging on about serious matter is there was windows broken in my warehouse. I've got a complaint to make too.

[00:13:27]>> Yeah.

[00:13:28]>> And he said I'm too busy today anyway about it. So I'll come in tomorrow. But the guard said no. He'll get the guard the guard station now and then like he did and and things transpired from there.

[00:13:36]>> Yeah. Because so he he goes into the guard station ultimately. He gives a totally different version of events. He denies all of the claims.

[00:13:46]>> Yeah. His his version of events is probably worth exploring because like it is it was it was it was quite comical.

[00:13:51]Um he he he said he arrived down at the site. Um he was basically attacked by the teenagers. Now he these are 13 year olds who've just been 12. just turned 13.

[00:14:00]>> As one of the mothers said to me, like her son was about 5 foot at the time, barely 5 foot.

[00:14:05]>> In his statement, this was one of the like cuz it was quite a harrowing court case to listen to, but one of the only kind of bits of kind of comic relief in it all >> just to break the tension was they read out his statement in court and he said they were about 15 or 16 and about 5' n in height.

[00:14:18]>> Yeah.

[00:14:19]>> Now they were just gone 13 and they were about 5 foot in height. So he but he he made it out like these marauding teenagers who attacked him. Yes. Yes.

[00:14:26]And said that he they actually got him down to the ground and and assaulted him and he he he only injuries he caused him were all in self-defense and he was terrified for his wife who was in the car. This is like all lies now. What he's saying it like in so what happened was he he made this whole claim said he was attacked and said he he he was holding them there until the guards arrived. Now it obviously transported the guards were never rang.

[00:14:49]>> Yeah. Um he did ring two of his mates who just come down and he did ring his his parents uh from from the site while he was doing all this. So the guards were never rang. So that whole story was suspicious anyway later on CCTV.

[00:15:00]>> See this is where it really falls apart, right? And this this is the the real you know this is where he's got because there's somebody I presume it's local CCTV from one of the other >> another an adjoining business and it was peculiar because the CCTV >> while it was it was canvased at the time and local GI had received it for some reason I don't know they didn't explain in court but it was just some mistake happened along the way where it hadn't been passed on to the investigating team until very shortly before the court case was due to begin. So, Okconor and Kevin both pleaded not guilty um in the case.

[00:15:36]They were going to go to trial on it and they were denying everything up until the hilt. Then this CCTV landed a couple of weeks before the trial was a good start.

[00:15:43]>> The CCTV obviously completely proves the boy's version of events. It shows him grabbing two of them, bringing them across the the yard. It shows him beating them up, choking them against a a building, kneing them, punching them.

[00:15:55]It shows his wife coming out and and like the the kids say videoing what was happening. It shows It shows all look what they said was true. Basically, it doesn't show inside the warehouse, but the like um Okconor and Kevin later accepted when they seen that CCTV that the rest of it also did happen.

[00:16:10]>> So, it just shows you the danger that that you know if that CCTV hadn't have existed, it really comes down to somebody's word against another person's word. Yeah, >> I mean I presume this happens across the land at times and a judge will listen to it and maybe make a determination or a jury, but >> you know the CCTV if the CCTV hadn't been found he might have >> possibly. I suppose the problem for him is there. Well, I said the problem is there was four witnesses. So there's this three boys who are all the victims.

[00:16:42]There's the girl who seen it. All their stories were all the same because they told the truth and what happened. But then Kavanaaugh's story uh was backing up Okconor's story. So you've got that then I don't know would Shane Gaffne like we can't speculate on what he would say. He was never charged with anything.

[00:16:57]He was there but he would have given a version of events then as well. I don't know what his would have been >> but you know I suppose like Kavanaaugh was backing him up and was saying that story that Okconor is saying is correct you know and he was backing up >> and he had non did not he pleaded not guilty. So in the meantime, so it first comes to court, is it back in 2025?

[00:17:15]Takes a while for Yeah. Yeah. It takes a while for obviously the guards.

[00:17:18]>> It was around June June 25. Yeah. He was charged. Yeah.

[00:17:21]>> So he So and then it takes another almost a year to to to get obviously to get to the point of conviction.

[00:17:29]>> In the meantime, um Klo Connor I mean somebody told me just casually that he was denying it all publicly to anybody who would ask him. M >> very much so. Yeah. And and supporters of his would have been trying to paint a picture of >> there was feral teens running around here and this this is out of control society and this is just a a a kind of businessman who had enough and you know well it was disproportionately was attacked and you know this is what happens when when people are not not an uncommon story that we we would hear from cases from time to time. Not to get into any of them in particular. So in but in the meantime he continues to to pursue his property business. Obviously he's you know it's been reported in all like it's a big issue in Siggo obviously I think it was in the local papers back from back in June to 25 I think we took the copy a couple of times >> just where people appear you know initial charges and all. So, it's well known presumably in the local area. But despite all of that, he's continuing amazingly, I suppose, or maybe not amazingly, to to lobby the government about housing issues. And he recruits uh a former TD, Mark McShar. Mark McShar obviously been Fina Fall TD. He'd also been a senator, I think, for was it 12 14 years or something.

[00:18:51]>> Yeah, he' been a long I suppose he'd been about 20 years in the rookist. I think he was a senator first and then a TD for for a lot of years. He he eventually left politics in 2024.

[00:19:00]>> Um Finnal for most of that time for I'd say about 18 of those years. It was a bit of it was an independent at the end.

[00:19:06]He had a bit of a fight with Finnal but that was just towards the end and then just didn't stand in 2024. So he finished up in 2024 by by last year he'd launched a lobbying firm um Pontis uh I think it's called and kind of just getting off the ground with that. Um, >> now lobbying firms are it's not something we talk about in Crime World and maybe we should be, >> but lobbying firms are legal in Ireland obviously and uh and you know they they make representations to the government on behalf of businesses basically. Um but you know lobbying has always been something that that you know there's public scrutiny of >> because for obvious reasons it's happened in previous countries countries in particular you have these lobby groups and if they're not registering um you know obviously there could be suspicions that they have undue influence and this is not the case in Ireland if you set up a lobbying group it all becomes public knowledge really doesn't it if you're meeting the government on behalf so we know that Mark McSherry you know in public documents that he was he met a whole series of people on behalf of >> he'd lobbied. Yeah, I suppose he he'd met some in person and he he'd lobbyed others, you know, I suppose seeking meetings or or putting forward viewpoints. It would be emails, phone calls, meetings with, you know, people.

[00:20:23]It be a mixture of all that. So yeah, so in terms of who we lobbied for for Cot Connor's company which is um Belair the Belair group the T-shock the Tanisha uh the housing minister um Shinfane's housing spokesman on Brienne um multiple TDs in Siggo um and the and the northwest and Literum Siggo area county counselors >> and when is this all this is all obviously in in 2025 >> this begins in in 2025 so like I say Mark Mc March set up or set up his advice or his um lobbying group essentially an advisory firm in 2025. Um and kind of straight away as soon as he he he set it up he was lobbying on behalf of Bell there. It seems like they would be maybe if not his biggest client certainly one of his biggest clients but it certainly seems like he was doing a lot of lobbying on their behalf specifically >> and some of that would cross over with when Cotler Connor's in court and in the newspaper >> most of it would. Yeah. So, so I think let's say the I think the period of the in the lobbying register kind of stretches from May last year to December in terms of what's been filed so far. I think he he he Mr. McStary himself has said he's been lobbying for them this year as well. But so May is when he started lobbying on behalf of of Bell there. June I think was when Kconor appeared in court charged with it.

[00:21:37]>> Yeah.

[00:21:38]>> Um and obviously the attack took place in 2024. So that would predate all of this.

[00:21:42]>> Yeah. But some of the obviously the the charges would have been public knowledge you would imagine. Yeah. Now obviously then when it does go when he does get finally plead guilty um goes through the sentencing process as is normal. As part of that sentencing process KL Connor puts forward that you know he's a businessman like all of these things are said in mitigation and a part of that mitigation he he he puts forward some character references.

[00:22:10]>> Yeah. and he did and in in in the first hearing um which we were at uh there was a mention of a Mr. Makshari being one of the people who who provided the character reference. Now it didn't say >> his first name. Uh it it kind of just you know it said it's character reference and it went into basically you know he's saying he's he's a good person. He knows knows him for 30 years and he's he's of good character and this is out of character for him etc etc. Um we'd obviously after being there that that week when we heard the name Mr. which I assumed it could have been Mark McSherry. So contacted him in between that and sentencing about it and he said yes it is me >> uh that that provided the uh the character reference for it and then we're just asking obviously that there had been criticism in the past the character reference has been given by by politicians or former politicians and if he still stood by it and he said 100% um stands by it um and he he he pointed out that there was obviously a recent case before that a couple of weeks earlier the Damar Ramo Morty case um >> this is a case of a guy who was convicted of a sex offense and during his sentencing we heard that a former TD who later emerged was a guy called Jim Glennon a former >> another former filed yeah >> that he had uh he had given him a character reference and it was a big national issue for sure >> it was cuz I think a lot of the media kind of knew in between that reference being given and and Mr. Glennon coming out and saying it is me.

[00:23:37]There was, you know, a lot of media were were knocking on his door, seeing if he'd talk about it before he issued the statement, but he he kind of gone to ground, so to speak, before that. But I think it one of the big things he he he acknowledged when he did apologize was that he never made any reference to the the victims in his uh character reference for for Ramorty.

[00:23:55]>> Yeah.

[00:23:56]>> Um and then went on to give him a character reference anyway. So I suppose there two things he'd be criticized on there.

[00:24:02]>> Yeah.

[00:24:03]>> Well, Maxari, Mr. Mcshari talked to us.

[00:24:05]He said, you know, he was aware obviously of that previous case, the Glennon case, cuz it was only the week or so beforehand. So, he was he was well aware of it when he wrote his own character reference for >> Kor.

[00:24:16]So, he kind of thought that the difference in his his one was that at the start of his letter, he acknowledged the victims. So, he did put it was the first uh the first opening pars of the letter did say, you know, it was a terrible crime that happened and I wish them, you know, I hope they recover and acknowledge it's a serious crime. But then when we spoke to him, he's obviously still standing over um Ko Connor's character and he says it's easy to stand over the truth. It's a matter it's a matter of fact that I know and respect this gentleman. It's a matter of fact that I'm disappointed what occurred. It's a matter of fact that there are victims obviously and that one hopes have recovered fully and are recovering for from their ordeal. And it's a fact that these are serious matters.

[00:24:56]>> Yeah. And did he address the the rel the lobbying relationship that he had uh with with you know Connor's company?

[00:25:02]>> He did. Yeah, like cuz cuz I I' I'd asked him about that and I said, well, like because he he had said to me just in terms of the character effort that said, I you know, I'm I'm 52 year olds and I know the family, the Okconor family for 30 years. Um and and he he knows the people, likes them, respects them. He thinks Scott Oconor is a gentleman. So I said, "Well, obviously you do lobby for his his company um bell there." And he said, "Yeah, he he did."

[00:25:24]He said he didn't mention that in the in the letter um that he handed up to court. Um and yeah he he'd lobbyed for them and he basically said yeah I have I've I've done that and I've lobbyed the government for them but uh that's all in the past year and it was postpolitical uh post time I was in politics.

[00:25:42]>> Yeah. Now Ono Brin of course would be the Chunfain housing spokesman very highprofile in terms of his his approach to housing. So he was also lobbied and uh on behalf of Cotwell Commerce Company uh by Mark McSherry but he he also spoke to you and he I suppose he he makes clear he felt he should have been made aware that these charges were were floating along. Um >> yeah he was he was very unhappy. So I suppose the first uh that he knew about it was when I I contacted him. Obviously he knew he met him and he knew that uh >> Maxshari Mr. Mcshari had had kind of >> set up that meeting. So he he sat down with Mr. McSherry and with Cot Connor which is normal I suppose for for Breen or people who are in in housing in politics. So they will sit down obviously regularly with people from the private sector, public sector involved in the housing, listen to what they have to say and you know take that on board what they say and that might affect what their housing policies are going forward like you know they'll hope to find solutions to the housing crisis or this is part for the course to have these meetings with there's nothing untoward about it obviously >> it's completely normal to to listen to what uh people involved in in housing have to say but the difference here obviously is he had no idea that this court case was ongoing at the time um and he was very uh very disappointed that uh Mr. McShary and Klo Connor didn't tell him uh that was going on. Um and he said if I had have known I wouldn't have met him. Well, I have an open door policy to meet anyone who is involved in residential development in the public or private sector. I certainly would not have been comfortable meeting somebody in that circumstance. And then he went on to say, I would think twice about responding at all, let alone responding positively to any request to meet Mark's clients given the fact he withheld this information from me when he approached me to engage last year. Yeah. And and he he went on to say that obviously the the I think actually he said first as well that the he he he thought that the victims should get an apology for the um the character reference. So it's it's look Siggo's a pretty decentsized town but there is a feeling of this of somebody being a a big shot in the local area and an important person and you know the families maybe of these boys not uh the feeling that they're up against an establishment I suppose to a degree.

[00:27:59]>> Yeah. You've met all you've have you met you've met a number of the families and then you've also kept an eye on I suppose the reaction on on social media in the aftermath which has certainly thrown up some of that debate about you know people being you know basically big fish in in in relatively small ponds.

[00:28:18]>> Yeah, absolutely. There's been kind of strange reaction somewhere online like I think there's been a bit of a campaign um from supporters of of KO Connor while this whole case was going on. Like for instance, there's um there's a there's a Facebook page, Balisodair, Community Hawkeye, and it it it kind of presents itself as a page um covering antisocial behavior in the area and all that. It also coincidentally seems to uh regularly post repost posts on behalf of Belair Home and you know, great job guys and that sort of stuff. Now, from talking to people in Siggo, they suspect the person running this page is someone who's close to to Kah Oconor, someone who'd be quite known to him. But so even from the point of when Carlo Okconor was charged, this page had been putting up things saying, you know, well, two wrongs don't make a right, but you know, kids are out of control and you know, what's a businessman to do kind of stuff. Then even after he's he's been convicted, uh, and sentenced um, and as part of the sentence, just I should point out, he he got a 5year sentence with three years suspended. So it's basically two years.

[00:29:23]>> Yeah.

[00:29:24]>> Um, for it co-accus got fully suspended.

[00:29:27]Yeah. Um, Miss Kokus Kavanaaugh got a fully suspended sentence. Um, but Okconor was also ordered to pay the uh the three victims 35,000 each um as a token of remorse uh by July. Now, Okconor himself had put forward this money which happens often in in these court cases where someone will say this isn't to influence the decision but I have this amount of money as a gesture of my remorse to show how sorry I am.

[00:29:51]So, the judge actually put that in his in his judgment that that's actually he has to pay that. So it's 35 each and then obviously the jail sentence. He has to complete anger management when he gets out. He'd be postprobion and all that. But so this had all happened. He'd been convicted there last Friday week and sentenced. And then this page came out kind of gun, you know, they're defending him again. And so in relation to uh the sentence, it said, "Sadly, antisocial behavior gets rewarded. Let's hope the parents don't blow all the money away on themselves and put it to good use um for the kids to get a good education.

[00:30:29]>> Yeah. I mean bizarre like because there's literally no more antisocial behavior and battering unbelievable few a few innocent >> when I read I seen it and there was this wasn't the only post now by this page.

[00:30:41]It's it it seems to be trolling the families. Um and it's it's like you know it's it's describing children as feral and all that. Like I I've met the families. I was in court. They're all decent, you know, these are these are like lovely people and all that. This kind of pictures been trying to be painted by these supporters that feral out of control teens. It's not.

[00:31:00]>> But this page is still kind of putting it forward um and saying that like and then attacking the parents, you know, as though they're going to blow the money on, you know, and it's like and even just having a pop of the kids saying, well, you should use that money to get them an education as though to suggest they're they're uneducated or something like that. But it's that shows the condescension that's coming from supporters of OKAR who who himself claimed uh in the court and took to the stand under well after being asked by the judge cuz he wrote a letter of remorse that was read out. It was quite brief and then the judge kind of invited him to to take the stand which he did his answers in that were kind of one-word responses to his own barister you know asking you know are you very sorry of course I am. I think the only point he got animated during during that when he was kind of expressing his remorse in court was when his barister asked him like as a father of kids would you accept anyone laying their hand on any of them and he said absolutely not.

[00:31:50]>> Yeah >> that was the quite forceful part but that was when it was talking about his own kids but uh the rest it was kind of mono salabic kind of responses to you know yes no and all that sort of stuff.

[00:31:59]So, but the families didn't the families that I spoke to said they they didn't believe he was remorseful. You know, he said the words, but they said if we felt he meant it, it might have meant a lot more to us.

[00:32:10]>> Yeah.

[00:32:10]>> But we didn't feel it came across as genuine.

[00:32:13]>> And of course, he would say, "I am being genuine." But, you know, they entitled to have their >> but yeah, their reading of it was that they didn't they didn't feel the remorse was genuine. Look, you know, in his guard statement, he tried to portray those kids as >> violent aggressors and that all turned out to be lies. But he was sticking by that up until a couple of weeks before the court case. So >> yeah, I don't know.

[00:32:31]>> Oh, sorry. I I I should point out as well, there was um I spoke to the mother of the girl who um who was forced to watch and and this is something the judge noted as well um that two weeks after he attacked the boys, he came across this mother of the girl in town and he came up to her, she didn't know who he was and he said, "I'm, you know, caught. Can I speak to you please?" and all that. And she said, "I don't think I should." You know, and he's like, "Oh, please, please, please." So he's basically saying, you know, listen, I know you're and this is quite strange actually considering other stuff he said about owning the town and and known guards, but he said he said to the woman that um I know you're a good person.

[00:33:06]I've had a background check done on you.

[00:33:08]>> Yeah.

[00:33:09]>> Which is bizarre in itself, but you know, people can think of that what they will. He then went on to say she she said to him, "Look, what you did was wrong." Oh, so she's she's she's saying like, "I know your daughter didn't do anything wrong, etc." And she said, you know, neither did the boys and what you did was wrong. he shouldn't have done it. And he said, "I'll do it. I'd do it again."

[00:33:26]>> Yeah.

[00:33:26]>> This is two weeks on. The judge noted that in court when the remorse thing came up and he said, "Well, that like he had two weeks after the fact and he's saying I'd do it again." Yeah.

[00:33:35]>> You know, that totally contradicts. But look, that's that's you know.

[00:33:37]>> Yeah. No, no. I mean, exactly. I was in the the sentencing of the Hennessy uh guys there and they plead guilty at the last moment and then they're remorseful.

[00:33:45]>> Are you remorseful? Were they?

[00:33:46]>> Well, you know what I mean? Like but I mean that and look it's it's it's I suppose it's good that that he accepts it in in a court setting because the ultimate truth you know that you know if he if he had that defense that's been given on that social media he would have fought to the he could have gone into court and fought on that basis but of course he couldn't do that because the CCTV contradicted his claims flatly. Now he's got two years. He's still floating around, isn't he? Um >> he is. Yeah. The judge uh has given him until July to get essentially to get his business affairs in order um before he starts a sentence. So he's going to have to present himself on that day on the 1st of July, I think it is, and going to prison. Um so he's basically kind of he's now in the middle of getting his business affairs in order. You can see if you look at his company accounts, he's he's he's put a family member in as an extra director of one of his companies there the other day or very soon after the the court case. So, he's he's doing that as as it happens now.

[00:34:48]So, different family members have been appointed and to to his businesses and stuff like that. So, he's yeah, he's he's he's out and about um for the next couple of or a month and a half I suppose now. I mean it's the judge I think at some point in his something said he he he sort of didn't he sort of felt like he didn't want to jail him but he he felt the gravity of the crime.

[00:35:08]>> I think he said he essentially had no choice given the the gravity of the crime.

[00:35:11]>> A curious kind of uh statement but uh I hope it is some of some consolation to the families that he is going to spend time in prison and I think it is. Is it from the >> It is like they were they were saying that look they have to they have to explain to the kids how you know he's still walking around despite the fact he's just after being sentenced to prison. and and you know that's a little bit tough but I suppose that's something they just have to put up with for a month and a half or whatever. Like you have to remember as well with these kids they were absolutely terrified. Like a lot of them have suffered serious kind of trauma as a result of this. Like there's obviously the injuries the physical injuries but like I know it's a cliche but it's the mental injuries then as well.

[00:35:47]>> These these these kids thought that he was going to come to their house and kill them. Yeah.

[00:35:51]>> And he thought nothing was going to be done about it. They were terrified. They you know they're suffering anxiety all sorts of stuff. panic attacks kind of were scared to go to school.

[00:35:59]They'd be scared like one of the girl had to move schools. She moved home. She was scared she'd bump into him and she was terrified he'd kill her. You know, similar things happen with the boys in terms of they, you know, would miss a lot of school cuz they'd be terrified.

[00:36:12]Even things like going past industrial estates, if they saw like Okconor drove a a black Porsche, if they saw a black car on the road, they'd get their parents to pull in cuz they have it would trigger off everything and they just have a total panic attack. And like you know Siggo's it's a bustling town but it's a small enough place so the chances of bumping into someone >> Yeah.

[00:36:30]>> you know are high.

[00:36:31]>> Look there's no doubt from all his comments that he fed off that sense that he was a a big shot who had connections in that town. And it probably you know while two some people would look at that and say two years is a very short sentence. It is good to see uh at least some small town bully or medium-sized town or whatever not to pick on the size of the town actually going to prison.

[00:36:54]mean.

[00:36:54]>> Yeah. Well, I suppose, look, it shows that the comments he made of, I own the town. I own the guards. So, he didn't own the guards. They prosecuted him.

[00:37:00]They diligently went after him. They successfully brought the case. The DPP prosecuted. He didn't own the town. You know, he doesn't own the town. I suppose people like this, they >> think they own the town. And >> they like to project to show to to to pretend to other people that they they're untouchable, but of course they're not.

[00:37:17]>> No. And look, this is his first conviction. Now, if you speak to people in Siggo, they will claim um that he's he's he's done things before, you know, probably not at this gravity, but you know, might have got in a bit of bother before, but because he had so much money behind him, he kind of >> yeah, >> got around that. Uh now, nothing as serious as this. Now, he obviously himself claimed he killed before. So, um you know, I I doubt he did, but look, he he put that forward himself.

[00:37:42]>> Well, it's an amazing story in a way. I mean really genuinely shocking but we'll come back to it Alan if we hear of appeals or maybe when when Kcon Connor does finally book himself into the into the prison system. So thanks very much.

[00:37:58]Cheers.