BY PAUL NEILAN
A CONVICTED rapist and killer, with a former address in Macroom, who attacked a mother and son in their Cork home with a claw-hammer, turning it into a ‘blood-bath’, has had his jail time increased by nearly three years by the Court of Appeal.
In June of last year, Ian Horgan was jailed for eight-and -a-half years for the hammer attack on a then 29-year-old man, who required brain surgery for his injuries, and his 66-year-old mother at their home on the afternoon of March 26th, 2022.
At the Court of Appeal sitting in Cork phone videos of the scene, filmed by Horgan, were played to the three sitting judges showing the immediate aftermath of the attack, as well as a video of Horgan later sitting in a park as the Bill Withers song ‘Lovely Day’ plays in the background.
One of the videos played for the court showed victim Hassan Baker, his face covered in blood, sitting on the ground in a semi-conscious state.
Horgan, formerly of The Hermitage, Macroom pleaded guilty to the offences at Cork Circuit Criminal Court on January 30th, 2023, and was sentenced by Judge Helen Boyle to nine years with the final six months suspended for the attack on Mr Baker and to a concurrent three years with the final six suspended for the attack on his mother, Mary O’Callaghan.
The attack occurred at McCurtain Villas, off College Road, Cork, which Ms O’Callaghan described in her victim impact statement as a ‘blood-bath’.
At the Court of Appeal, president Mr Justice George Birmingham said the court would allow the application of undue leniency made by the State and increased Horgan’s jail sentence from eight-and-a-half years to 11 years and three months with no portion suspended for the assault causing serious harm on Mr Baker.
The court did not intervene with the assault causing harm sentence relating to Ms O’Callaghan.
When passing judgement, Mr Justice Birmingham said Horgan (40) had a ‘lengthy history of violence’ and had convictions for rape, manslaughter, robbery, violent disorder, affray, possession of drugs for sale or supply and for the production of an article during the course of a dispute.
After the attack, said Mr Justice Birmingham, Horgan then sent mocking texts about Mr Baker to his then partner, who had previously been in a relationship with the injured man.
In increasing the sentence for the assault causing serious harm, Mr Justice Birmingham said Horgan had knocked on the door of the dwelling and pushed his way past Ms O’Callaghan and attacked Mr Baker on the left shoulder with the hammer.
Horgan then continued his attack on Mr Baker, choking his victim for 20-30 seconds, before again attacking him with the hammer, causing depressed skull, eye-socket and cheek fractures.
Mr Justice Birmingham said that Ms O’Callaghan tried to intervene to help her son but Horgan broke her wrist when she did so.
Horgan was 16 when he raped and strangled 22-year-old Cork woman Rachel Kiely and, almost exactly 18 years ago, was jailed for seven and a half years by Mr Justice Barry White.
Horgan had admitted manslaughter but denied murder and rape charges.
At a first trial in 2002, he was convicted of rape and murder but those convictions were set aside by the Court of Criminal Appeal, which ordered a retrial.
At a 2006 trial, a jury at the Central Criminal Court found him not guilty of murder but guilty of the rape and manslaughter of Rachel Kiely while she was out walking the family dogs in a park near her Ballincollig home.
