Deadly Silence cover art

Deadly Silence

A Sister’s Battle to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of Clodagh and Her Sons by Alan Hawe

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Deadly Silence

By: Jacqueline Connolly
Narrated by: Sherelle Kelleher
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About this listen

The heart-breaking account of a search for the truth behind the brutal killings that shocked a nation.

On 29 August 2016, devastating news hit the headlines that an entire family was found dead in a rural community. For Jacqueline Connolly, this was a deeply personal and life-shattering tragedy, as she discovered her sister Clodagh, along with her nephews Liam, Niall and Ryan, were killed by their husband and father Alan Hawe.

Here, Jacqueline discloses the circumstances leading up to these tragic events, including Hawe's manipulation and coercive control of her unsuspecting sister.

Her gripping account tells of her family's painful struggle to expose critical failures in the initial garda investigation, as they uncovered the terrible darkness behind Hawe's 'pillar-of-the-community' facade.

Jacqueline also reveals many of the shocking, unpublished findings of the recent Garda Serious Crime Review, details that challenge our understanding of domestic violence and family annihilators, while laying bare a mass murder—Ireland's largest murder-suicide—that was cold-bloodedly planned for a year in advance.

Deadly Silence is both the story of a sister's determination to find truth and justice, and an inspiring personal journey of healing from severe trauma and loss.

©2025 Jacqueline Coll (P)2025 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Abuse Crime Domestic Partner Abuse Dysfunctional Families Murder Parenting & Families Relationships True Crime Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking

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All stars
Most relevant  
The honest and heartbreaking courage of Jacqueline to tell Clodaghs story while bringing to the fore the flaws in the Irish justice system, ensured that Clodagh and her boys would never be forgotten.

Honest, heartbreaking and courageous

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Very well presented and with professionals support how trauma can be challenged face on but getting the support for those without a voice, the network or the money is almost impossible. Even with the truth, it is silenced and mistakes repeated. A book of Hope and Love

The frustration, pain and endurance of trauma for a family

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Well done Jacqueline, you did Clodagh and the boys proud. Best wishes to you and your Mum for the future.

Very sad but very good book

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Emotional insightful empowering a book to empower women and a story of painful emotions that have been used positively to protect future victims, a great role model for all women

Emotional insightful empowering

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Enthralling, inspirational, emotional, powerful and heartbreaking. Huge admiration and empathy for the author. I urge you all to listen to her story. Incredibly written and perfectly performed.

Heartbreakingly amazing

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Hi Jacqueline,

I just wanted to reach out after finishing Deadly Silence. I grew up in Oldcastle — I think I was the year behind you in school. My name is Caoimhe McConnell.

I have vivid memories of you, Clodagh, and Tadhg growing up. I always knew who you were. While I’m not sure how often our paths actually crossed, you were always someone I was aware of in the background of my own growing up.

Over the years, I’ve often thought of you and your family. The losses you’ve endured are so tragic and deeply unfair. Most people are never asked to carry even one of those heartbreaks — yet it felt like you were barely given space to process one grief before being hit with another. And still, people would say to you, “I don’t know how you’re still standing” — and your reply, “I didn’t have a choice,” will stay with me forever. It says everything. You just had to keep going — and you did.

Your book is extraordinary — raw, honest, and filled with such love. I was taken aback by some of the cruel or dismissive things said to you in the aftermath, though maybe I shouldn’t have been. Seeing them laid bare made it painfully real. But there was such kindness too — the small gestures that meant everything. You’ve given readers an unfiltered, deeply valuable insight into what grief, trauma, and survival actually look like.

One thing that struck me deeply was your love for your nephews — Niall, Liam, and Ryan. The way you write about them is full of warmth, pride, and protectiveness. It’s clear how much you adored them, and how present they still are in your heart. As I was reading, I couldn’t stop thinking of Gary — and how heartbreaking it is that those beautiful boys were taken from him too. He should have had his big cousins beside him, growing up with that kind of love and mischief and connection. That loss ripples outwards in so many directions.

Your book also captures sibling grief with such clarity. It’s something that’s often overlooked — but you’ve made it impossible to ignore. You’ve shown how the grief of a sister is lifelong and deserves its place, its space, and its voice.

Despite everything you’ve been through, your spark still shines through — your personality leaps off the page. There’s such warmth, wit, and a mischievous humour that lives right alongside your honesty and your heartbreak. You feel everything deeply, but you still manage to bring light in.

Your love for Gary is beyond moving — your strength and fierce devotion to him is unmistakable in every chapter. He is so clearly your heart, and your reason, and you’ve built a beautiful life around him in the face of the unimaginable.

Your determination — to survive, to speak, to live fully as a mother, daughter, sister, friend, and woman with dreams and a voice — is inspiring. You haven’t let the world flatten or silence you. Your strength has been quiet at times, loud at others, but always unwavering.

I remember Carmel and Gerry, and their daughters, so well — my Dad used to play poker with Carmel, and of course I knew Gerry and Matty from the drapery. Reading about them brought everything home — familiar faces woven through a heartbreaking and surreal story. They seem like such incredible people, and it gave me real comfort to know that you had that kind of steady, loving family support around you. It’s clear they’ve been a quiet source of strength.

While your book understandably centres on uncovering the truth about the murder of your sister and your three beloved nephews, I couldn’t let this message pass without also acknowledging the death of your brother, Tadhg, and your husband, Richie. The pain of their loss is woven through everything, too. And beyond your personal story, the work you’ve done to raise awareness of coercive control, and of the devastating reality of familicide — what your family was subjected to — has made a real and lasting impact. Your voice has opened people’s eyes in a way that few could. That takes courage, and purpose, and immense love.

Lastly, I just want to acknowledge your mother, Mary. Her strength — walking through so much of this beside you — deserves immense recognition. I hope she knows how many people are holding her in their thoughts too.

Thank you for writing this. Thank you for your courage, and for using your voice to speak not just for your family, but for so many others who’ve felt invisible in their grief. I truly hope your dreams continue to grow and take shape, and that both you, Gary, and your mother find moments of peace, pride, and gentleness in the years ahead.

You so deserve it.
Warmest wishes,
Caoimhe McConnell

Love

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What some people go through is unimaginable, Jacqueline you are a powerhouse. your amazing, and your mom. Clodagh would be so proud of you. Thank you for sharing your story with us, and educating us ❤️

Powerful

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the story was clearly a difficult one but i commend the author and her family for the courage to get to the bottom of the reasons why this happened. i hope it helps other women. wishing the family all the best they derserve it.

heartbreaking story. well written and spoken.

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The search for truth in this book is astounding. I hope it sets the family free. It is very well written and very well read. So much resonated with me and I appreciate the way she explored and put into words the details relating to coercive control. I believe that reading this book will help prevent deaths.

Truth

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Such a tragic story bravely told by Jacqueline. Both women show unparalleled strength in the face of such loss in their lives.

Heartbreaking

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