A drink driver who killed a four-year-old boy and severely injured his mother in a crash last year has been jailed for 7½ years.
Ciarán Treacy was killed while returning from his grandparents' house in Stradbally, Co Laois with his brother Seán (7) and mother Gillian when the collision occurred at Ballymorris, Portarlington at 8.30pm on April 17th.
Finbarr O'Rourke (40) of Laurel Drive, Portlaoise, Co Laois was sentenced for dangerous driving causing death at a sitting of Portlaoise Circuit Court on Tuesday. He had earlier admitted to the charge and a second charge of drink driving arising from the crash.
Judge Keenan Johnson described the victim impact statement of Ronan and Gillian Treacy as "one of the most powerful, harrowing, vivid and upsetting that I have ever read."
He said “this victim impact statement is a wake-up call, that we as a society need to make it abundantly clear that drinking and driving is neither socially nor morally acceptable”.
The statement itself has done an “enormous amount of good” by highlighting the issue of drink driving and “provides a fitting tribute and legacy to the memory of Ciaran,” the judger said.
“In time, I hope that this will be a source of some consolation to the Treacy family,” he said.
“In the blink of an eye, the Treacys’ beautiful family life was shattered, when their son and brother Ciaran was fatally injured in the accident and his mother sustained life-threatening and lifelong injuries.”
Aside from the emotional and physical harm, Judge Johnson acknowledge the crash also had devastating financial implications for the Treacy family.
“Their lives have been changed forever. Our heartfelt sympathy is extended to them as is our admiration for the way that they coped to date in the face of such adversity.” Judge Johnson said. “I hope the Treacy family are receiving all the support that is available from the relevant state agencies at this difficult time and if not then I would urge such state agencies to step up to the plate and provide such help and assistance.”
He compared sentencing in the UK to its Irish equivalent and suggested that it was an area worth looking at in the context of the debate on drink driving.
Judge Johnson said that drivers have a duty of care to other road users. “By drinking and driving a person is betraying that duty of care and putting other innocent road users in danger. A car under the control of a drunken driver is no longer a mode of transport, it is a lethal instrument that has the capacity to kill and maim,” he said.
He praised the actions of the gardaí and emergency services for their quick response to the crash. “It is clear that all of the services acted in a professional and co-ordinated fashion. The gardaí deserve credit for the speed within which they apprehended the accused- it was a great piece of police work,” he said.
He also commended Lorcan Fulham, Mary Joyce, Emmett O’Mahoney and his son Cian O’Mahoney who helped at the crash scene. Nurse Mary Joyce - who came on the scene and stopped to assist - had stayed with Ciarán until he was admitted to Portlaoise Hospital, Judge Johnson noted.
The court was told O’Rourke, who had no previous convictions, had drank nine pints of cider in Portarlington on the day of the crash. He had not intended on driving but had a disagreement with a friend and decided to leave in his car.
Judge Johnson noted O’Rourke’s urine alcohol reading of 200mg per 100ml of urine. As Mr O’Rourke had been a professional driver, working as travelling salesman at the time, a legal limit of 27g per 100ml of urine applies and he was therefore seven times over the legal limit, the court heard.
O’Rourke has since joined the AA and had attempted self harm.
It was noted that O’Rourke is a devoted father of two who had worked all his life and had been involved in charitable work.
Judge Johnson said there were emotional scenes last week “when he said goodbye to his children, knowing that the next time he was likely meet them was when they called to see him in prison”.
It is clear O’Rourke is “inherently a decent human being” who made some very bad decisions on the night of the crash and he has now to live with the consequences of that, said Judge Johnson.
He jailed O’Rourke for seven years and six months and disqualified him from driving for 20 years. The drink driving charge was marked proven and taken into consideration.
Judge Johnson urged the media to report sensitively on the case bearing in mind the feelings of both families.
In their statement, Ciarán’s parents spoke of their deep loss: “We as parents, Seán, Caoimhe, our parents and extended family will never be able to come to terms with Ciarán’s loss. We will always wonder how life would have been.
“He never got the chance to start school, make his Communion, Confirmation, go to college, get married or have children. These are the things that will break our hearts even more knowing he did not get to live his life, a life that was so brutally taken through the drunken actions of Finbarr O’Rourke. Again this I will never forgive Finbarr O’Rourke for.
“What keep us alive are Seán and Caoimhe. They need us and it is our goal to be good parents to them and they deserve nothing less. They have suffered enough and will suffer more missing Ciarán in their lives. We carry on knowing we have an angel in heaven watching over us.”
During his trial, O’Rourke took to the stand and said he left the scene of the crash because he “panicked”.
O’Rourke recalled smashing his head through a window at the Garda station when he heard Ciaran had passed away. “I would give my life, I never went out to hurt anybody that day,” he said. “I just didn’t think, I just jumped into the car.”