In 2026, the Central Criminal Court reported that Tegan McGhie, then 32, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of four-year-old Mason O’Connell-Conway. The “vile” and “vicious” murder occurred in March 2021 at a house in Rathbane, Limerick City, where McGhee lived with the boy’s father. Following the lifting of a court order on 14 January 2026, McGhee can now be named as the “evil” stepmother who carried out a “serious” and “depraved” campaign of abuse against the child in her care.
The court heard horrendous details of the “vicious” injuries inflicted on young Mason, which medical professionals reported were comparable to those sustained by victims of car crashes. On 13 March 2021, emergency services were called to the home after the child’s father, John Paul O’Connell, then 36, falsely claimed his son had fallen from a bunk bed. However, the investigation by Gardaí revealed that McGhee had “vilely” shaken the child and struck his head against the floor. At the same time, a blunt force injury to his abdomen had also lacerated his liver. Mason died three days later in his mother’s arms.
During the sentencing, Mr Justice Paul McDermott reported that Mason had been deliberately isolated and subjected to “serious” and disproportionate punishments in the weeks leading up to his death. McGhee was also sentenced to four years and six months for two counts of child cruelty, to run concurrently with her life sentence. The judge emphasised the “appalling breach of trust” committed by McGhee and O’Connell, who worked together to deceive family, friends, and doctors about the “vile” abuse taking place in Limerick City.
The boy’s father, John Paul O’Connell, was previously sentenced to seven years in prison for his “vicious” role in the tragedy. He pleaded guilty to neglect, endangerment, and impeding the prosecution of McGhee, knowing she had murdered his son. Mason’s mother, Elizabeth Conway, bravely delivered a victim impact statement, describing the “pure evil” that took her son’s life. She reported how the “depraved” pair stood in church during the funeral and pretended to love the boy they had “vilely” tortured and killed.
As a result of her conviction for murder and child cruelty, Tegan McGhee will serve a life sentence. She is managed under the highest level of supervision within the Irish prison system and, should she ever be considered for parole, will be subject to lifetime monitoring and strict notification requirements. Any further “vicious” behaviour or breach of licensing conditions in Limerick or elsewhere will result in her immediate return to custody.
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