High Court approves bail for murder accused

THE HIGH Court has approved bail conditions for a man charged with the murder of his wife in Howth, Co Dublin, two weeks ago.

Eamon Lillis (51) was granted bail in his own bond of €150,000 during a High Court sitting at Cloverhill Court in Dublin yesterday.

Mr Lillis, of Rowan Hill, Windgate Road, Howth, is charged with killing Celine Cawley (46) at their home on December 15th.

Judge Patrick McCarthy consented to the terms of bail agreed between Mr Lillis’s representative Michael O’Higgins SC and barrister Gráinne O’Neill, for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

During a brief hearing, Judge McCarthy consented that Mr Lillis be released on his own bond of €150,000, of which €75,000 was to be lodged. An independent surety of €50,000 or two sureties of €25,000 were also sought under the conditions of bail.

The conditions also stated that Mr Lillis must reside at his Howth home or at an address agreed with gardaí, and that he must sign on at Howth Garda station between the hours of 9am and 9pm daily.

It was requested that a copy of the bail order be made available by 10am today as Mr Lillis’s representatives wanted him to be committed to bail as soon as possible.

Ms Cawley, a mother of one, died as a result of injuries she received during an attack at the rear of the family home. A postmortem on her body concluded that she had died of head injuries consistent with being hit a number of times with a heavy object.

Detectives investigating the murder believe a bloodstained brick found near her body was used as a weapon.

Ms Cawley was the founder and managing director of Toytown Films, an independent television company producing advertisements for major global brands since 1990.

Mr Lillis, a television producer, was arrested in Howth on December 20th and taken to Clontarf Garda station for questioning, and the DPP directed that he be charged with the murder the following morning. He was remanded in custody for two weeks following a hearing at Cloverhill District Court on Tuesday last week.