This article is from page 16 of the 2007-04-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
MEDICAL experts who assessed Patrick O’Dwyer in the months following the killing of his sister, reached conflicting conclusions.
The Director of the Central Men- tal Hospital, Dr Harry Kennedy — a forensic psychiatrist — who gave evi- dence on behalf of the prosecution, said the accused did not suffer from a mental disorder at the time of the killing.
In contrast, three medical experts, tendered by the defence, concluded
that he did suffer from a mental dis- order at the time.
Dr Joan Moroney, a _ consultant neurologist, said Patrick reported a history of blackouts, some of which were related to alcohol consumption.
Dr Moroney, who gave evidence on behalf of the defence last Tuesday, said the accused would experience “spinning in his head and everything would go dark. He also reported staring episodes when he wouldn’t be fully aware of his surroundings, which would last 30 to 40 seconds.”
She said that for two days after the
party at his parents’ home, he felt depressed and began to think of su1- cide. “If there was a rope in the ga- rage he would have hanged himself. He wanted to go and bash his brains out. He thought his sister was going to stop him. He wanted to stop her before she stopped him.”
“The overall consensus would be that Patrick probably did have an epilepsy syndrome, emanating from the left hand side of his brain,’ she concluded.
She said he would be “less likely to have a fit during alcohol consump-
tion, but more likely to have a seizure in the 24 to 48 hours after.” Consultant psychiatrist Dr Cleo Van Velsen told the trial she concluded that the accused suffered from “de- personalisation disorder.” She said this disorder could be linked to his premature birth. She expressed the view that if Patrick had been on his own on the night of the killing, he “might have killed himself.” Another consultant psychiatrist, Dr Paul O’Connell agreed with Dr Van Velsen’s conclusions. “I think that depersonalisation disorder nearly
entirely captures the symptoms,” he SrHLOe
However, Dr Harry Kennedy told the trial he believed the accused suf- fered from a “severe alcohol prob- lem.” He said that on the day of the killing, he was overcome with “pro- found feelings of shame and embar- rassment” as a result of a drunken episode the previous Saturday night.
Dr Kennedy said he did not find any evidence of a “depersonalisation disorder” or epilepsy, as had been described by the other medical ex- ea Re