Australian admits shooting dead Irishman who was engaged to his daughter

Damien Conlon, originally from Sligo but who had been living in Australia for over a decade, was shot dead in an incident at his home in Oberon, rural New South Wales, on February 9, 2023.

Luke Simon, 57, was charged with murdering Mr. Conlon shortly after the incident and appeared before the Sydney Supreme Court via video link from Silverwater jail where he admitted to fatally shooting him.

Simon is the father of Mr Conlon’s fiancée, Linda. Mr. Conlon and Linda were engaged to be married and were planning to marry in 2023. They shared two children, Mason, 3, and Elias,1, with Mr Conlon, who also became a stepdad to Linda’s sons from a previous relationship, Brodie and Joseph.

Mr. Conlon had worked in the hospitality sector in Sligo before emigrating to Australia in 2011 on a one-year work visa. He became a citizen in 2021 and had set up a large excavation business in Kelso, New South Wales.

Linda previously said that her fiancé’s death was "senseless and violent" and was devastated that they would not be able to spend their lives together.

"We had deposits paid on the venue, the church, and everything, but unfortunately, that will never be," she told the Irish Mirror last year.

"That is the hardest part, all the plans we had for the future and watching our children growing up without him. We just take it day by day now, that is all we can do."

Linda described Mr. Conlon as a devoted Dad and Stepdad to her two sons and said that no one had a bad word to say about him — with her saying that one person flew 20 hours to be at his funeral.

"He was the sort of fella you’d ring at midnight and say 'my shower is broken' and he’d jump out of bed, put his boots on and come over to help," she said.

"That’s the kind of man he was. One example is an architect he spoke to, they never met but they spoke on the phone. He’s flying 20 hours to be at his funeral, that’s how much people loved him."

Simon’s guilty plea has been recorded as a conviction, and his next court date will be before Sydney Supreme Court on November 7.

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.