The family of Martin Lynn has called for the Director of Public Prosecutions to appeal the sentence of his killer on leniency grounds. 

On 30th July 2023, Mr Lynn was on his way home to Whitehall after a visit to the cinema with a friend. 

He got out of a taxi when motorcyclist Christopher O'Neill, of Larkhill Road in Dublin, dismounted and punched him in the face for seemingly no real reason whatsoever. 

Mr Lynn had his hands in his pockets the whole time and was taken to hospital, where he died two days later. 

O’Neill pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to six years imprisonment. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, Sharon Lynn described her younger brother as a “very kind, sensitive and mild mannered young man”. He was rarely in a bad mood and was not the type of man who went looking for trouble. 

 Ms Lynn said O’Neill’s attack on her brother was a “complete, random, unprovoked, senseless act of violence”, committed “without any warning”. 

“It's thought that he was frustrated by the fact that the taxi had stopped on the road to let Martin out and that the motorbike he was on had to go around the taxi, so slightly inconvenienced him,” she added. 

O’Neill fled the scene after the attack and it took several years to bring him to trial. 

Ms Lynn described the process of convicting O’Neill as “absolute torture", which was compounded by him behaviour. 

“He was eventually arrested and charged about a year and a half later, in December 2024, following a very long investigation by the Guards,” she recalled. 

“He denied it was him right up until just before Christmas there, so almost two and a half years after he killed Martin.”

Martin and Sharon Lynn. Image: Supplied.

Despite pleading guilty, Ms Lynn believes it came “too little too late”. 

The Judge imposed a sentence of eight and a half years, with the final two and a half suspended, citing O’Neill’s expression of remorse as a mitigating factor. 

However, Ms Lynn doubts that he feels truly remorseful for taking her brother’s life. 

“We never received any apology, explanation or any communication in fact from Christopher O'Neill,” she said. 

“He wrote a letter to the judge and we didn't see that letter; if remorse was expressed, it was privately for the court and not offered to those he actually harmed.

“He also was laughing in court, he winked at someone just after the sentencing and also on the first day after our victim impact statements were presented - that's not remorse, in my opinion.

“That's performance for a judge and contempt for our family. To me, it makes a complete mockery of the justice system.”

'Not vengeful people'

In fact, Ms O’Neill feels that the idea that he was remorseful is “quite frankly offensive and very upsetting” to them as a family. 

With standard remission for good behaviour of 25%, he could be freed after only 4 and a half years behind bars. 

“We're not vengeful people,” Ms Lynn added. 

“We just want a sentence that's fair and properly reflects the callous nature of this crime - particularly considering the circumstances. 

“In this case, the vulnerability of Martin at the time, his hands were in his pocket - which shows he meant no harm - and he also didn't expect to be attacked outside his own home.”

The family is currently in the “final stages” of writing their letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions, requesting that she appeal the leniency of the sentence.

Main image: Martin and Sharon Lynn. Image: Supplied.