Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
I want to read the book!
All characters reduced
A Tragedy Waiting to Happen – The Chaotic Life of Brendan O'Donnell - The true story of an abandoned orphan who became a psychotic killer - cover

A Tragedy Waiting to Happen – The Chaotic Life of Brendan O'Donnell - The true story of an abandoned orphan who became a psychotic killer

Tony Muggivan, JJ Muggivan

Publisher: Gill Books

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

For years, Tony Muggivan urged the Irish social system to offer appropriate treatment to the desperately sick Brendan O'Donnell. A Tragedy Waiting to Happen is the harrowing story of his doomed attempts and the awful consequences of that failure: a triple murder.

Tony Muggivan is a farmer. One wet night in February 1989, Brendan O'Donnell entered his life and that of his family. He had absconded from Trinity Detention Centre in Dublin and had been missing for a week. He turned up at Tony Muggivan's door, dirty, dishevelled and starving. The Muggivans took him in. Tony had never seen Brendan before.

The next day, Tony began a search for help. It was clear that Brendan should be in a psychiatric unit, not a detention centre. Doctors, social workers and the Gardaí all agreed that this was the best course of action. As there was no place for him in Co. Clare, Tony took Brendan to hospitals in Ballinasloe and Galway, where they refused to admit him. Frustrated and angry, they returned home. Over the next five years Brendan began living rough and embarked on a campaign of armed robbery and mayhem in the east Clare area. It was evident he was out of control.

In 1994 Brendan murdered Imelda Riney, her three-year old son Liam and Fr. Joe Walsh. It was one of the most shocking crimes of modern times. Brendan was convicted in 1996 and died in prison in 1997 in circumstances that have never been fully explained by the authorities.

Tony and J.J. Muggivan recount Brendan O'Donnell's tragic life, and highlight the failures of the system to help a deeply disturbed boy who later became a psychotic killer. Tony had known that something awful was going to happen: for five years, he had tried and failed to get the Irish social and medical system to offer appropriate treatment to a desperately sick young man.

A Tragedy Waiting to Happen reveals the truth behind the headlines and the real Brendan O'Donnell.
Available since: 09/08/2004.
Print length: 230 pages.

Other books that might interest you

  • Lady Killer - cover

    Lady Killer

    Johnny Quick

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    From Johnny Quick, a glimpse into the mind of a real lady killer.
    Show book
  • The Guns of Meeting Street - A Southern Tragedy - cover

    The Guns of Meeting Street - A...

    T. Felder Dorn

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    An engrossing investigation into the true crime story of a sixteen-year family feud that ended in murder in early twentieth-century South Carolina. 
 
As compelling as fiction, The Guns of Meeting Street reconstructs a series of murders from the early 1940s that rocked rural Edgefield County, South Carolina. Featuring a cast of unlikely antagonists—a prominent store owner, an elementary school teacher, and a law enforcement officer—the acts of revenge resulted in five murders and a trio of executions, including that of the first woman to be electrocuted in South Carolina. 
 
Through interviews with members of the two families involved, T. Felder Dorn probes the longstanding feud between the Logues and the Timmermans to uncover this chilling plot of resentment, revenge, and violence. Dorn’s careful research weaves together the oral history of family members affected by the shooting with court transcripts, prisoner confessions, and coroners’ reports to produce a truly gripping account of the events. 
 
Although most of the deaths took place between 1940 and 1943, the roots of this tragedy can be traced back to killings that occurred in the Meeting Street community in the 1920s. The story climaxes on January 15, 1943, with the execution, within a single hour, of Sue Stidham Logue, George Logue, and Clarence Bagwell for the murder of Davis Timmerman. Dorn’s saga concludes with the 1960 parole and rehabilitation of Joe Frank Logue Jr., the only one of Timmerman’s killers to escape capital punishment. 
 
Not for the faint of heart, The Guns of Meeting Street details the circumstances and motivations for the killings, the complexities of the court cases, and the involvement in the proceedings of South Carolina governors Richard Manning Jefferies, Olin D. Johnston, and J. Strom Thurmond. 
 
“If you have any interest in history or true crime, The Guns of Meeting Street is a winner.” —Spartanburg Herald Journal 
 
“Dorn’s rigorously researched book unfolds in a clear, straightforward style that renders the events all the more disturbing.” —The State 
 
“Dorn’s extremely impressive book has all the elements—is fascinating in its entirety. And for every reader who loves a good mystery, The Guns of Meeting Street is available to intrigue, inform, incite and excite. It’ll never get a chance to gather dust on any bookshelf.” —Union (N.J.) Leader
    Show book
  • Remembering The Legend Ginger Baker - Off The Record Interviews - cover

    Remembering The Legend Ginger...

    Geoffrey Giuliano

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    Ginger Baker was, without question, the foremost drummer of his generation, having formed supergroups Cream and Blind Faith. In the early 1990s, author Geoffrey Giuliano received a call from Baker asking if he would be interested in writing his autobiography. From there, a turbulent, yet fruitful relationship ensued between the two. While the book they wrote together has yet to be published, here, at last, are the exclusive, in-depth, upfront, and highly personal conversations the two unlikely friends recorded in a Clarence, New York studio all those years ago. Ginger speaks his mind, holding forth on the particulars of his amazing life and work and in so doing reveals something he has always ardently tried to hide - that he is really a lovely, caring, sensitive man. For everyone interested in the history, art, and cultural significance of the popular music of the 20th century, this bold series is a once in a lifetime, must have audio event. Perfect for universities and all educational media as well as music fans everywhere, Contains adult language and mature themes. Not recommended for children. Parental warning - graphic content. Hosted, narrated and authored by Geoffrey Giuliano  Produced by Fred Betschen in New YorkEdited and mixed by Macc Kay in BangkokProject Coordinator Alex Franchi in Milan Icon Executive In Charge Of Production Avalon Giuliano in LondonICON Intern Eden Giuliano in Delhi  Special thanks to Glenn Bernardis & Vrnda Devi Music By AudioNautix With Their Kind Permission ©2019 Icon Audio Arts (P)2019 Icon Audio Arts
    Show book
  • Hands on Hearts - A Physio's Tale - cover

    Hands on Hearts - A Physio's Tale

    Alan Rae

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    Alan Rae was the physio at Hearts for over 20 years. He joined the club in 1982, languishing in the First Division and looking at the prospect of part time football. In that time he has seen 8 managers come and go as well as 3 owners and too many players to mention. Six years after leaving 'The Jambos' he has penned a memoir of his time at Hearts. He has anecdotes about home games, European games and even pre and post season tours abroad. Woven into these memories is the medical knowledge of a true professional, from players suffering career threatening injuries to managers for whom the pain of losing is physical as well as mental. BACK COVER: As Heart of Midlothian FC's physiotherapist, Alan Rae was a vital member of the Tynecastle backroom staff for more than two decades. He was one of the few constants during a tumultuous period in the club's rich history and his behind-the-scenes recollections will fascinate and entertain in equal measure. From international superstars to mischievous boot-room boys, Rae shares his unique insight into the life of a great Scottish football institution. Hands on Hearts is a must-read for football fans everywhere - Jambos or otherwise -and for anyone who has ever wondered about the healing properties of the physio's magic sponge!
    Show book
  • Short Story Collection Vol 047 - cover

    Short Story Collection Vol 047

    Various Various

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    LibriVox’s Short Story Collection 047: a collection of 20 short works of fiction in the public domain read by a group of LibriVox members, including stories by Poul Anderson, Aphra Behn, Kate Chopin, Joseph Conrad, Thomas Hardy, Bret Harte, O. Henry, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Franz Kafka, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London, Lucy Maud Montgomery and Wilbur D. Nesbit.
    Show book
  • My Antonia - cover

    My Antonia

    Willa Cather

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    Willa Cather's third novel of the "Prairie Trilogy," "My Ántonia" is the book that cemented Cather's place as a major American literary figure of the 20th century.  Soon after "My Ántonia" was published in 1918, Cather was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her novel "One of Ours," set in World War I.  "My Ántonia" relates the story of two young arrivals in Nebraska in the 1880's: Jim Burden and Ántonia Shimerda. Jim is an orphan, traveling to Nebraska to live with his grandparents, while Ántonia is emigrating to Nebraska with her Bohemian parents and siblings. The novel follows the pair as they become fast friends and experience life (and great challenges) on the Western prairie.  Received with rapturous reviews when it first appeared in print, "My Ántonia" has gone on to become an American classic and a beloved literary treasure. It is presented here in its original, unabridged format.
    Show book