Damien Conlon, who was originally from Sligo but 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 shortly after the incident with murdering Mr Conlon and admitted last year to fatally shooting him. Simon is the father of Mr Conlon’s fiancée, Linda.
Mr Conlon and Linda were engaged and were planning to marry in 2023. They had two children together – Mason, three, and one-year-old Elias.
Mr Conlon also become a stepfather to Linda’s sons from a previous relationship, Brodie and Joseph.
Mr Conlon had worked in hospitality 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.
After the 31-year sentence was handed down, Damien’s mother, Ethel, told RTÉ’s News at One that she could not contain her joy that "justice had been done for her son".
She said: "To be straight and honest, I thought, from what I was listening to, I thought he gets about ten to 15 years. But when I heard the judge turn around and say 31 years, I nearly fell to the ground. I couldn’t stop the crying.
"He will always be in my heart and soul. You know, it’s a loss that he’s gone. I do miss him. We all miss him.
"He had a great life over there, until this happened to him, but it’s just a devastating time right now, and it’s very heartbreaking because we’ll never get him back," she added.
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Damien’s father, Dermot, added: "I can’t thank the people enough for the support that we got in this last two years. It’s unbelievable the support that we got.
"It took such a long time, but at least that’s justice for Damien anyway, God rest him."
"Disturbing and chilling"
In her judgement, Judge Sarah McNaughton described the CCTV footage as "disturbing and chilling".
She said: "I’ve viewed the disturbing and chilling video of the final shooting of the already wounded Mr Conlon.
"I note the calm and calculated manner in which the offender shot Mr Conlon, the words 'bye, bye, Damien', the tone of his voice, as well as the offender’s multiple admissions to the shooting," she added.
Linda Simon previously said that her fiancé’s death was "senseless and violent" and that she 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 said.
"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," she said.
In the aftermath of the shooting in 2023, Damien’s brother John issued a statement in local newspaper the Sligo Champion in which he described his brother as someone who followed his dreams.
Brother's tribute
"He was a real character and was great at winding people up in a good-natured way.
"From a very young age, he was very interested in carpentry, and he started out when he was 16 and he was also into cars. Like myself he was very much into cars, especially old sports cars.
"He left to go to Australia in 2011 and that was a big wrench for the family as we are all very close. But he was determined to go to Australia as that was his dream.
"Damien and I went out the back of Benbulben Mountain at the Horseshoe and we sat down for a few hours, and he told me that he was going out to Australia to make a life for himself out there," he said. "Damien had a dream and he followed it, and we are all proud of how he made it come true"".
John continued, "But he did come back on holidays twice and we had a great time with him, and he was always good with people and that is why he was so successful out there.
"He was really into old cars, and he told me that he always wanted a Honda Civic B Tech car, and he still has a load of stuff up here in the loft of the house in Sligo."
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* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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