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Woman Facing Life In Prison After Double Midlands Murder

Monday, 8 December 2025 12:59

Ruth Lawrence received two life sentences in court today.

The woman found guilty of murdering two men, whose bodies were found on an island on a Midlands Lake, has been given a life sentence.

45 year old Ruth Lawrence from Clontarf in Dublin, had denied murdering Eoin O’Connor and Anthony Keegan over a significant drug debt owed by her boyfriend.

It was the State’s case that Ruth Lawrence and her partner, Neville Van der Westhuizen, lured and murdered Eoin O’Connor and his lifelong friend, Anthony Keegan, over a drug debt owed by Van der Westhuizen.

Both men were shot dead and their bodies dumped on Inchicup Island on Lough Sheelin, before the couple fled to South Africa.

Lawrence was extradited back to Ireland two years ago.

At her sentence hearing, Eoin O’Connor’s partner, Karen Roche, described him as a loving father who, despite getting involved with drugs, had worked hard his whole life.

His daughter, Brooke, called him her hero. Anthony Keegan’s sister, Margaret, said he was loyal and caring — and that his loyalty to his friend ultimately cost him his life. 

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