At 11am on Christmas Eve 2014, Pauline Tully heard a loud knock on her front door. It was Pearse McAuley, her estranged husband from whom she had judicially separated 10 months beforehand. Pauline Tully: 'I kept thinking, he’s gone further than he’d ever gone before.' When Tully tried to stop him from taking the car keys, he tried to choke her, punching her in the back of the head when she sought refuge in the bathroom. [ IRA killer Pearse McAuley found dead at Co Tyrone homeOpens in new window ]McAuley was released from prison in 2022 and moved to Strabane.

Source: The Irish Times January 18, 2026 07:31 UTC