Offaly student jailed for causing the deaths of his two college friends

A 22-YEAR-OLD student whose dangerous driving caused the deaths of his two college friends has been sentenced to four years in prison and disqualified from driving for eight years.

Patrick Carroll of Drinagh, Fivealley, Birr, Co Offaly, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the deaths of Darragh Dullea and Cillian Kirwan, along with driving under the influence of alcohol.

In sentencing at Limerick Circuit Court, Judge Simon McAleese said that in relation to “the carnage on our roads as a result of aggravated dangerous driving, the perpetrators must learn that they will face custodial sentences, especially young males - that cohort who are most regularly before the courts charged with such misconduct.”

After finishing college lectures on February 20, 2024, Mr Carroll was driving his car, having consumed drinks in two pubs in Kildimo, when the single-vehicle collision occurred on the N69 at Ballyengland near Askeaton, within 10 minutes of leaving the second pub.

It was accepted by barrister for Mr Carroll, Brian McInerney SC, that speed, alcohol consumption and a loss of control of the vehicle were all potential contributory factors to the double fatality.

READ ALSO: 'I’m at fault': Limerick student was three times over limit when two friends died

The judge set a headline sentence of eight years for each of the dangerous driving causing death charges, reducing it down to four years for each charge in mitigation.

He sentenced Mr Carroll to six months for driving a mechanically propelled vehicle while exceeding the alcohol limit in urine, contrary to the road traffic act.

All sentences are to run concurrently with each other.

Within three hours of the collision, Mr Carroll had 222mg of alcohol in his system per 100ml of urine - more than three times the legal limit for driving.

While the judge laid out the facts of the case, Mr Carroll, dressed in a navy suit, tie and white shirt, looked downwards, and stoically ahead, remaining steadfast with his reactions, as he appeared to accept his impending fate.

Mr Carroll’s parents were seated in the front row of the body of the courtroom and were tightly gripping each other’s hands as the judge delivered his sentence.

Families of both the deceased young men, and students from the agricultural college, were also in the courtroom.

Judge McAleese noted that a “principal aggravating factor was his decision to consume a large amount of alcohol” adding that Mr Carroll “knowingly exposed his passengers to risks of death or serious injury.”

The judge added that Cillian Kirwan’s mother, Sinéad Molloy, delivered her victim impact statement with “understated strength and dignity” and that the lives of herself and Cillian’s sister Áine are “shattered”.

He said that Darragh Dullea’s family likewise have had all of Darragh’s aspirations and “dreams robbed from them.”

Judge McAleese said that for both families “life moves cruelly onwards.”

In mitigation, the judge noted the guilty plea at the earliest stage, the fact that there were no previous convictions, acceptance of the consequences, along with Mr Carroll voluntarily going into custody when this matter may have been put back until the end of the year due to ongoing legal aid issues involving solicitors.

The probation report was also noted and it stated that while alcohol was a key factor in this collision that Mr Carroll has not had any alcohol since that day in February 2024 and he does not intend to drink alcohol again in the future.

A letter from Mr Carroll’s father was also referenced by the judge and the letter said: “I want to acknowledge the pain the accident has caused to Darragh and Cillian’s families and friends, they were two fine young men who had farming in their blood. Their hopes and lives have been shattered.

“Patrick is a good lad - he made a horrible mistake and it’s something Patrick will have to live with for his whole life.”

In his closing remarks, before Mr Carroll looked up at his family and was brought into the custody suite within the courts, the judge said that he was “satisfied that Mr Carroll is most unlikely to come before the courts again.”

Darragh Dullea from Clonakilty in Cork was just 20 when he died, while Cillian Kirwan from Piltown, Kilkenny was 19-years-old.

Both had lifetime ambitions of finishing college Salesian Agricultural College in Pallaskenry and going on to run their own family farms.