Offaly domestic violence service contributes to new book on Hawe murders

The CEO of Offaly Domestic Violence Support Service (ODVSS) said this week that it was “an honour and a privilege” to be asked to contribute to a compelling book detailing the search for the truth behind the brutal murders of Clodagh Hawe and her three sons at the hands of her husband and the children's father, Alan Hawe, in 2016.

Anne Clarke was asked to contribute a chapter to the book 'Deadly Silence' which was written by the late Clodagh Hawe's sister, Jacqueline Connolly, outlining the signs and impact of coercive control on victims of domestic violence.

In her book, Jacqueline Connolly outlines the full extent of the coercive control her late sister, Clodagh, was subjected to during her marriage to Alan Hawe. As well as dedicating the book to the memory of her sister and nephews, and to her mother, Mary, she said it was in honour of “every woman who struggles against domestic violence in all its forms.”

“I became very close friends with Jacqueline ever since I first asked her if she woud speak at our 25th anniversary seminar in 2023, and she also spoke at our seminar last year,” explains Anne Clarke, “so when she was writing this book she was very anxious that a chapter be included which would explain what coercive control is, and what it looks like, and she asked me to write it.”

Anne says she chose to write the chapter 'Understanding Coercive Control' in “very plain everyday language” in the hope that victims of this form of domestic violence might read it and recognise it if it is happening in their own lives.

She makes the point in the book that most people think of domestic abuse as “black eyes and bruising” but a mere 6% of intimate partner abuse is physical.

She says the “subtle insidious nature of coercive control can make it difficult to identify, even for victims,” but agrees there is more awareness around the issue since it became a criminal offence in 2019.

Offaly Domestic Violence Support Service has joined with Jacqueline Connolly in calling on the Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, to release the findings of the Garda Review into the Hawe murders which was completed in 2023. Publication of the report has been withheld by An Garda Siochána due to “operational reasons”.

Anne Clarke says the decision not to make the report public will be “a missed opportunity” for lessons to be learned by everyone involved in dealing with the aftermath of such a horrific tragedy.

“It is imperative that this report is published because there are many lessons to be learned by everyone involved in dealing with domestic abuse and coercive control.”

Jacqueline Connolly pays warm tribute to Anne Clarke in 'Deadly Silence' thanking her “as a friend and as a great source of support,” and describing her "understanding, empathy and continued work" advocating for women who are victims of abuse as “inspirational”.