ALTHOUGH THE victim's family gave only a brief but very emotional statement outside the courthouse after the verdict, several members privately expressed dissatisfaction that the jury "did not go far enough".
They were referring to the jury's decision to convict Michael McArdle of manslaughter, as requested by the state prosecutor, and not murder, which would have carried a sentence of at least 14 years as opposed to the maximum of four years applicable for manslaughter.
Within minutes of the trial ending in Malaga yesterday, many of the 18 relatives and friends present rushed to seek clarification from Hector González, the Corcoran family's lawyer, on the verdict, which was not translated for them as it was read in Spanish by the jury foreman.
As some relatives and friends wept and hugged openly in the corridor, others expressed anger that McArdle, who left the courtroom with his lawyer through a rear door, had not been taken into custody immediately.
Kelly-Anne Corcoran's sister Caroline Moran, who was moved to tears at several points during yesterday's proceedings, was heard to voice disappointment at the trial outcome but she also reminded the family that "he has been convicted and that's the main thing" after hearing Mr González explain that "with the evidence we had, the manslaughter outcome was a strong possibility".
Her father Ted Corcoran stressed that "all we wanted was justice, no matter what length of time it took".
The Corcorans were described by their lawyer as "a family with great dignity and humanity that has suffered terribly throughout this eight-year ordeal".
Mr González revealed that if it had not been for their perseverance, McArdle would never have been brought to justice.
"The state was prepared to close this file on this case around two years ago and if the family had not insisted on going ahead with this private prosecution, Mr McArdle would not have been convicted. He will now have to live for the rest of life with the fact that it is now known that he caused the death of his wife," he said.
He revealed also that the family had paid all its own expenses to travel to Malaga for the duration of the trial, having rejected the offer of Spanish funding for those called as witnesses.
It emerged yesterday also that the family wants any compensation awarded as part of the sentence to be used to set up a fund for Kelly-Anne's two young sons, now aged 10 and 11, and to help children and women who are victims of domestic abuse.
Depending on the sentence passed by the judge, the compensation could amount to more than €200,000.
The brief statement after the verdict on behalf of the victim's family said: "The Corcoran family would like to thank the Spanish authorities, the Spanish police, the Spanish court and the Spanish people for bringing Mr McArdle to justice.
"We would also like to thank the Irish authorities, the Irish gardaí and the Irish courts for their involvement. We thank our legal people, both Spanish and Irish, for seeking out justice for Kelly-Anne.
"The Corcoran, Moran, Carr, Farnan and Lowndes families would like to thank all the brave people and friends of Kelly-Anne who came forward in support of Kelly-Anne.
"There are no winners in this terrible situation. We thank the people from Dundalk and the people from the rest of Ireland for their best wishes and support through this."