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Deadly Silence

A Sister’s Battle to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of Clodagh and Her Sons by Alan Hawe - Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2025, An Post Irish Book Awards

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About this listen

 NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025, AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS

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Jacqueline also reveals many of the shocking, unpublished findings of the recent Garda Serious Crime Review, details that challenge our understanding of domestic violence and family annihilators, while laying bare a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 Abuse Crime Domestic Partner Abuse Dysfunctional Families Murder Parenting & Families Relationships True Crime Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Inspiring Scary Thought-Provoking

Critic reviews

Deadly Silence is a record of Clodagh's sister Jacqueline's attempts to 'uncover the truth' about what happened ... It is a deeply poignant account of innocent lives lost for no reason and then symbolically lost again by the meaning of the deaths being misunderstood ... Deadly Silence is a vital book
That it is so utterly compelling, even as she narrates some deeply distressing events, is a testament to her resilience and grace under the most catastrophic circumstances
As riveting as it is heartbreaking ... an important read
All stars
Most relevant
A Heartbreaking story which shows a sister and mothers real straight and courage to fight for answers.

Heartbreaking

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Harrowing tragedy that is hard to listen to at time but also comes with many lessons and inspiration to find a way no matter the circumstances.

Resilience

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I loved the book and Jacqueline's strength to take everything on. Excellent. it's very sad it's a true story.

The whole book.

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Gripping story from the very start. A woman and her mother to endure such hardship and grief and to keep fighting for what was right. It’s a story well narrated, you can feel your own heart break at times.

Raw

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Heartbreaking read, the strength and courage shown by Jacqueline and her mum is unbelievable. I wish them peace.

Heartbreaking read

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