Three young men have been jailed for life for the murder of Thomas Dooley who was beaten to death in 2014 at his home in Edenderry, Co. Offaly.

The 64-year-old's family said they were horrified by the cruel and heartless way he was killed.

Neighbours found Thomas slumped on an armchair in the living room of his home on February 16th, 2014 – four days after he died.

A postmortem revealed he was hit eight times in the body and head with a baseball bat. There was also an attempt to set his body on fire afterwards.

James Davy of Thornhill Meadows in Celbridge, Co. Kildare; his cousin Sean Davy of Clonmullen Drive, Edenderry; and Matthew Cummins of Churchview Heights, Edenderry, were convicted of murder in August.

Ms. Justice Margaret Heneghan described the attack on a defenceless elderly man as brutal and motiveless.

In a victim impact statement, the Dooley family said they were horrified and shocked at the cruel and heartless way his life was taken and hoped no family would have to go through what they endured.

All three were then handed mandatory life sentences.