A school vice-principal who killed his family may have targeted his wife and eldest son first for fear they would fight back.
Harrowing evidence has been heard during an inquest into the deaths of Clodagh Hawe (39) and her three boys Liam (13), Niall (11) and Ryan (6) at the hands of their father Alan, who then took his own life.
The horrific murder-suicide unfolded at their home near Ballyjamesduff in Co Cavan on August 29 2016.
Amid audible shock in Cavan courthouse yesterday, pathologist Michael Curtis explained how Hawe is thought to have killed his wife and sons.
He said although it was "impossible" to be certain of the order of the deaths, the "impression I get is that, essentially, working on the basis that dispatching Clodagh and the older boy first, he would have rendered the possibility of a physical challenge less likely".
As he outlined in graphic detail how Mrs Hawe and her three sons died, her mother Mary Coll and sister Jacqueline Connolly sobbed and shook as they were comforted by relatives in the front row of the public gallery.
Mrs Hawe suffered axe, stab wounds and fractured bones on her right hand, which Dr Curtis suggested could have been defensive injuries.
The boys, who were found in their beds, suffered stab wounds.
Liam also had injuries to his left arm and hands while Niall had an injury to a finger on his right hand - all of which could have been defensive.
Alan Hawe died by suicide and was found in the hall of the house.
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Earlier yesterday, Mrs Coll became distressed as she spoke of the time the family had spent with her on the Sunday evening before the murder-suicide.
The grieving mother and grandmother took a minute to compose herself before she told of the last time she saw the family alive.
"When they were leaving then I hugged them, I kissed them and said goodbye," she said.
Mrs Coll discovered the killings when she went to the Hawe home in Oakdene Downs, Barconey the following morning.
She became concerned after her daughter failed to drop off the youngest two boys as planned.
When she arrived, Mrs Coll said she found a bloodstained note on the back door saying "Don't come in. Call the gardai".
"I knew it was Alan's handwriting. I knew that something terrible had happened," she said.
The inquest heard that when officer arrived they found Mrs Hawe lying face down in her pyjamas and dressing gown on the sitting room sofa.
Garda Aisling Walsh also broke down as she recalled seeing Liam and Niall in their shared bedroom.
"They had no signs of life," she told the hearing. "They had their duvets on them."
Ryan was also found alone in his bedroom, covered by a duvet.
