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Wife-killer puts on a play for the President

WIFE-KILLER Eamon Lillis had none other than President Michael D Higgins in the audience at the premiere of a play he produced at Wheatfield prison yesterday.

Lillis -- who is serving a sentence of just less than seven years for the manslaughter of his wife Celine Cawley -- is behind a production of 'The Happy Prince', which was performed in private for Michael D Higgins yesterday.

The play is based on the famous Oscar Wilde story first published in 1888.

Sources say that although Lillis -- who was married to former Bond girl Ms Cawley -- was heavily involved in the production of the play, he did not have a starring role.

Yesterday, Mr Higgins's office confirmed he had attended a private viewing of the play at Wheatfield Prison, which "was produced and performed by prisoners". Mr Higgins said he had always been a strong advocate for the rehabilitation and support of "people on the margins, including those in penal institutions".

"All of society benefits from effective programmes of rehabilitation... and I congratulate the prison authorities for their commitment to this constructive work," Mr Higgins added.

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