THE family of a young man brutally killed after being stabbed through the heart with a foot-long butcher’s knife are furious the justice system failed their brother.

Tragic Michael O’Dwyer, 25, died after he was savagely knifed in the chest at a house party in January 2014.

3 Brothers Conor, David, Paul with pic of Michael & Alan, are irate Credit: Garrett White - The Sun

His twisted killer Tadhg Butler, 37, — who was previously known as Thomas O’Grady — slayed his fellow Kilkenny man with the massive weapon before continuing to drink at a party in his home.

Evil Butler — who has stood trial for murder three times — was ­previously sentenced to life in prison for murdering Michael.

But the O’Dwyer family were left “crushed” after the State recently accepted a plea of guilty to ­manslaughter after the murder ­verdict was overturned.

Heartbroken brother Paul said: “This has taken a lot out of my ­family, it has really added to our grief. We have had to sit through three trials and for what?

3 Tragic Michael O’Dwyer was knifed to death in 2014 Credit: Collect

“We can’t get it out of our heads the way Michael died, thinking of him and the way he died. Michael died at the hands of this man, afraid and alone.

“Michael was a quiet young fella who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Our life as we know is over, it can never be the same again. Yet Butler will be allowed to resume his life.

“My mum went every single day to the trials. It took an awful toll. You would be wrecked by the end of the day, you are going through the killing again and again.

“Knowing that he died on his own. The court cases have ripped the heart out of us. There is no justice.”

3 Butler knifed victim at a house party Credit: Collins

The beast could be back on the streets as early as next year as his nine-year sentence for manslaughter was backdated to when he first went into custody in 2014.

Butler was initially charged with murder over Michael’s death and first went on trial in April 2015 but the jury was discharged due to a legal issue on the first day.

A second jury found him guilty a few weeks later and he received the mandatory life sentence.

But that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal before a third trial earlier this year ended when the jury couldn’t agree a ­verdict. After that the State accepted a plea of guilty to manslaughter.

Sentencing Butler for manslaughter last month, Justice Michael White noted Butler’s criminal history and propensity to violence.

The monster changed his name from O’Grady after walking free from court in 2006 — because of times previously served — after smashing his friend’s skull with a rock.

The victim, Paul Barry, had to have his legs amputated after coming round from the assault with his legs in a fire. He was found by medics covered in blood, burned and naked except for his underpants.

O’Grady was originally jailed for two years and ten months for attempted murder but the conviction was quashed on appeal.

Identifying dead body after horror 'was tough' DEVASTATED Paul O’Dwyer fought back tears as he told of the ordeal of identifying his brother’s body.

The traumatised sibling also revealed Michael had phoned for help on the night of the horror knifing.

He said: “It is always on our minds the horrific way he died.

“At the house party, just before the stabbing, Michael rang my brother David for a lift home.

“Something must have been going on when Michael rang David, to get him out of there.

“I got the phone call in the middle of the night, I went down with my brothers to identify the body. It is tough, you know.”

Tragic Michael had cared for dad Eddie after he had been diagnosed with cancer in 2009 until his death in June 2011.

Paul said: “It was hard enough for us to lose Eddie, but to have to bury Michael beside him, just two and a half years later, was unbearable.

“Eddie died surrounded by our family, there is some comfort in that. But Michael was left alone to die. Michael died in a way which offers no comfort to us. He died on a cold footpath. He was stabbed in the house, he managed to get outside but then collapsed on the footpath.

“It was especially painful when we heard that Michael’s life had been taken by another person.”

And Michael’s relatives today tell the Irish Sun on Sunday they fear Butler will kill again when he’s out.

Worried Paul said: “I fear he will kill again. He killed Michael and look at his past record.

“He is a violent man. He changed his name previously after he burned the fella on the bonfire. You could even see the disgust on the third judge’s face when all these things (previous convictions) got read out.

“He served about three years for that. I don’t think he’ll change. He is a dangerous and evil man. It is awful to think he’ll be allowed out.

“One of my brothers lives across the road from his mother. Kilkenny is a small town.

“He has never shown any real remorse to us. When he does get out, I would say to him: Keep away. We’ve been told next year probably, 2019 we’ve been told. That will be the final insult.

“I would be worried that my two young brothers would see him. Would be on a night out or something, all it takes is a smile or a wink, you know. That’s what my mother fears too. It is terrible that he is being let out.

“The local community has supported us, the local councillor Joe Malone and the Gardai have been great. But we’re sick to the stomach that Butler will be allowed out just a few years after he killed Michael.”

Nine years is not enough and he won’t even serve that. If it was your family you would put him up all day on the stand for murder. We didn’t get justice at all. It is so one-sided Paul O'Dwyer

Emotional Paul — speaking alongside Michael’s other brothers Alan, Conor and David in Kilkenny — said the legal system had added to their “torture” following the stabbing.

He said: “It was going on so long with all the court cases, the State just accepted manslaughter. They (the Director of Public Prosecutions) called us up. Myself and my mum went up and they spent five minutes saying it might go to trial again and then they spent about 40 minutes on all the negatives, what could go wrong.

“So we said, ‘So you are going for manslaughter?’ And they claimed their minds were not made up. But then they turned around and said with manslaughter, ‘well he’ll get four and a half years.’

“But he killed my brother for God’s sake. Nine years is not enough and he won’t even serve that. If it was your family you would put him up all day on the stand for murder. We didn’t get justice at all. It is so one-sided. We told them (the DPP) we weren’t happy with manslaughter, we wanted to go for murder. I would have rather seen them go for murder and lose rather than accept manslaughter. He could have got 17 years for murder.

“Now he is going to be out in a year. We know that he did it, he knows that he did it, Kilkenny knows he did it.”

Evil Butler told his most recent murder trial that he accidentally stabbed a visitor to his home while taking a knife from his nephew to prevent him self-harming.

But he hadn’t given gardai this account during interview — nor did he tell his second murder trial until after he fired his legal team towards the end of proceedings and admitted he had not initially “told it like it was”.

And it emerged his nephew, Anthony O’Grady told cops that Butler had walked over and stabbed his friend with a butcher’s knife as they sat and chatted.

However, when called to testify, O’Grady said he couldn’t remember anything, partly due to personality disorders and five daily medications.

Furious Paul said: “He can’t tell the truth. He chopped and changed his story. At the time of the death, he didn’t mention anything about taking a knife from his nephew to prevent him self-harming.

“In the end Butler tried to make out it to be an accident, he said he tried to take the knife from the nephew and he stabbed Michael.”

He added: “The nephew volunteered his statement when it ­happened. That was the original statement, the live evidence.

“The nephew’s original statement was very clear and very incriminating for Butler. The nephew said clearly that Butler had walked over and stabbed his friend with a knife.

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“But then over time the nephew changed to ‘can’t remember’.

“The law is on the killer’s side, all the time he could say whatever he wanted, tarnish any name he wanted but we could not say one bad word about him.

“We’ve been left with no justice.”