THE PARENTS of a 22-year-old man who killed his 17-year-old sister in an attack with a hammer in 2004 have broken their silence and recalled the day their family was torn apart by the most unthinkable tragedy.

Paddy and Clare O'Dwyer from Ennistymon, Co Clare, spoke to Marian Finucane on her RTé radio show yesterday about 30 November 2004, the day their holiday in Spain was interrupted with a phone call from the gardaí to say that their son Patrick had killed their daughter Marguerite.

Paddy said: "We were in the Canaries when it happened. We were after coming back from a two-mile walk and we were just coming up the steps onto the prom when my phone rang and it was the local garda superintendent ringing to say there was something up in Ennistymon.

"I thought it was a joke but after a minute I realised he was serious. He said 'We need you home straight away. We have Patrick in custody.'

"I said 'where is Marguerite?' but he was not inclined to answer. I knew it had to be something serious when the superintendent was ringing.

"I demanded to know what it was. Clare started screaming. She realised by my face that it was something serious… the rest is a blank."

Paddy told Marian Finucane that, even at that early stage, he had been able to "put two and two together" and he knew that Patrick had killed Marguerite.

Paddy's wife Clare recalled: "When I heard him [Paddy] asking 'is Marguerite alright?' this look of pain came on his face. I went hysterical… I just did not want to believe it."

Shortly after Paddy and Clare received the call, relatives began to ring their apartment in the Canaries.

Their son Patrick had reported himself to Ennistymon garda station on 30 November after bludgeoning his sister to death with a hammer. His court hearing would later hear how he planned to "bash his own brains out" but when he saw Marguerite, he feared that she was going to prevent him from doing it so he killed her.

He later told psychiatrists that "it was like watching a video" and he was not able to turn it off.

Clare and Paddy managed to get a flight home the day after getting the news and arrived back in Ennistymon to find their house sealed off as a crime scene. Their daughter's body had been taken away for a postmortem and they did not get to see it until the Wednesday evening.

Clare said: "I just wanted to hold her hand," and Paddy added, "I didn't really know what to expect…To say what my feelings were would be very hard to say even at this stage."

Paddy vividly recalls going down to the local garda station to see his son. He said: "I saw Patrick the minute we came back. I didn't know what to expect until I walked into the room where they were holding him. He had fright in his eyes. I put my arm around him and asked him what happened and he said 'I don't know'. I wasn't in a rage with him. I was numb."

Clare said: "I was in total shock. I couldn't take it in. All that was in my mind was that Marguerite was dead."

Clare was not able to visit her son as she thought it would be too difficult to see him "surrounded by gardaí". She said: "I just said to Paddy will you tell Pa I love him. I will see him in a few days."

Psychiatrist Dr Van Cleo Van Velsen later diagnosed Patrick with "a depersonalisation disorder".

When Finucane attempted to describe what happened on the night of Marguerite's death she stopped as the O'Dwyers were too emotional.

Clare said: "We are trying to move on from it and get through each day as there is no point in looking back and dwelling. You have to take life one day at a time. We are at the level now where we are starting to have some normality back in our lives and hold down our jobs. Our son is on medication and he is responding well."

Paddy added: "It is always there. We are not blacking it out. We are learning to live with it. Patrick talks about it and he is getting help. We find it hard to talk to him about the exact details of what happened."

Patrick O'Dwyer was the first person to be convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility since new legislation governing insanity came into force in 2006.

Remembering the case, Paddy said:?"We found the court case very cold... It was as if we were not there."

The O'Dwyers spoke of the support they have received from the people in Ennistymon. They said that lot of Patrick's school friends were there for him during the court case and have visited him in prison.

They described how well their other daughter is dealing with it all. Paddy said: "Louise is coping. She is after taking a year out and she needed that time out… Louise was remarkably strong at the time."

Patrick pleaded not guilty to murder at the Central Criminal Court and he was later sentenced to six years in prison and he is due to be released in 2010.

Looking towards his release, Clare said: "The fact that he is on medication and has responded so well I would be comfortable to have him home. I am very relieved that this is under control and will be. He will have ongoing medical care for the rest of his life.

"All you have is today. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come. I have gone for a lot of counselling… we are all as well as can be and I don't want to think too far down the road."