Irish cyclist killed by drunk driver while out training: The family of a cyclist killed while he was on an early morning training ride on his own has been highly critical of the delay with the inquest process and the verdict. Above, Paud O’Leary with his wife Margaret and his children Shannon, Antoinette, Paudie and Ross.
A verdict of accidental death has been delivered by a jury, at the direction of a coroner, in the case of a cyclist killed by a drunk driver.
The motorist in question has already been convicted and jailed for the killing of Paud O’Leary (42), from Leam Gneeveguilla, Co Kerry. He was killed while training in July, 2012.
He was out for an early morning ride in preparation for the Ring of Kerry sportive.
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However, despite the courts already deciding the case was one of dangerous driving causing death, and a conviction having been recorded for that crime, the jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
Coroner for south and east Kerry, Aisling Quilter, told the jury of the verdict in the court case three years ago.
She said she was obliged to inform them of that. And she also told them their inquest verdict must align with the court verdict in the criminal case.
“The verdict returned today cannot be inconsistent with the verdict of the Circuit Court,” the coroner told the jury.
She added the purpose of the inquest was not to apportion blame.
Mr O’Leary’s widow Margaret O’Leary was very critical of the three-year delay between the court case concluding and the inquest being held.
“It is quite difficult to dredge it up again. It’s terrible really," she said. "It’s six years on; you have a lot of suffering done and you are back where you don’t want to be.
“We talk about him every day and we are devastated that he is not with us. It is terrible that he is not there .”
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The family’s solicitor Padraig O’Connell said there was also disappointment at the inquest verdict. He believed it should have been expanded upon to reflect the dangerous driving element to the case.
Shane Fitzgerald (26), of Upper Knockeen, Knockduff, Meelin, Newmarket, Co Cork, was convicted in 2015 of dangerous driving causing the death of Mr O’Leary. He had denied the charge during his trial.
In April 2015 Judge Thomas E O’Donnell at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee, Co Kerry, imposed a sentence of 6½ years on Fitzgerald Jnr.
However, he suspended 18 months of the term. It meant Fitzgerald Jnr, who was 20-years-old at the time of the crime, was effectively jailed for five years.
Father of four Mr O’Leary died when he was hit by a vehicle. He was on a training spin at Scrahanfadda, Gneeveguilla, Co Kerry.
The victim was killed less than 2km from his house as his wife and four young children slept.
The convicted man then left Mr O’Leary in a field; the impact of the collision having driven him through the ditch by the side of the road.
Fitzgerald Jnr drank almost all night before getting into his Landcruiser and killing Mr O’Leary. The deceased had left home at dawn to train in the early hours.
The dead man’s family searched for him when he failed to arrive home. They found his body at lunchtime that day.
Fitzgerald Jnr made plans to travel to England the following day. He then went to Australia within weeks.
He was eventually arrested in the UK as he was about to board a flight back to Australia. That followed a brief trip to England in February of 2014.
He intended to return to his job in the mining industry in Australia. But an Irish person familiar with the case saw him in Cambridge and alerted the authorities.
Fitzgerald was arrested at Heathrow Airport in London the following day. He was trying to catch his Australia-bound flight. He was brought back to Ireland to face trial.
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