A 33-year-old woman who was drunk, under the influence of drugs and had her two young children in the car when she struck and killed a cyclist in Co Clare has been sentenced to five years in prison, with the final six months suspended.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford imposed the sentence on Saoirse Lillis McMahon, of Moveen East, Kilkee, after she pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Michael Lorigan, 70, on August 16, 2023, on the N67 at Baunmore, Kilkee.
The court heard that Mr Lorigan, a retired teacher from Kilkishen, Co Clare, was nearing the end of an 88km cycle and was just 8km from meeting his wife, Dympna, in Kilkee, where the couple had planned to celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Lorigan said she had passed her husband in her car shortly before the collision.
“That was the last time I saw him alive,” she said.
The court heard that around 10 minutes later, gardaí received a report from a motorist about a blue Vauxhall Astra being driven erratically on the N67.
Before officers could reach the scene, the same witness phoned again to report that the vehicle had struck a cyclist. Garda Noreen King told the court that Lillis McMahon’s car hit Mr Lorigan’s bicycle from behind on a long, straight stretch of road with good driving conditions.
Witnesses had observed the car swerving across the road before impact.
A post-mortem later found that Mr Lorigan died from blunt force injuries to the head and neck. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The court heard an open bottle of wine was found on the front passenger seat of the car, while Lillis McMahon’s two sons, aged six and nine, were passengers in the vehicle. Judge Comerford said she had posed “a very real danger” to the children because of the intoxicants she had consumed.
The court heard she was 50% over the legal alcohol limit, recording 93mg of alcohol per 100ml of urine, above the legal limit of 67mg. Tests also revealed what the judge described as a “cocktail” of drugs in her system, including cocaine.
A forensic crash investigation found she had been travelling between 81km/h and 99km/h and did not brake before impact.
The court was also told the vehicle was dangerously defective.
After being cautioned by gardaí, Lillis McMahon said: “I cannot believe that I have killed a man.”
During Garda interviews, she expressed repeated remorse. “I am sorry it happened — the night before wasn’t planned at all. I had my kids with me. It shouldn’t have happened. I think about his wife all the time,” she said.
“I am so sorry. I felt really guilty just walking after it happened. I haven’t left the house in months. I didn’t want to drive the car that morning but I knew that I had to leave that house.”
The court heard she had stayed with a friend in Crusheen the previous night, where drugs had been taken.
Defence counsel Lorcan Connolly SC said his client fully acknowledged the “profound and irreversible loss” caused to Mr Lorigan’s family. He said the victim was “a gifted person” whose loss was enormous and described him as “completely and utterly blameless”.
He added: “In a heartbeat the accused would switch places.”
The court heard Lillis McMahon has since lost custody of her children, lost her job and is living in isolation from her community. Judge Comerford imposed a headline sentence of 96 months, reducing it to 60 months due to her early guilty plea and remorse.
He suspended the final six months on condition that she co-operates with the Probation Service, which will work with her on alcohol and drug issues.
He also imposed a seven-year driving ban.
Addressing Mr Lorigan’s family, the judge said: “No matter what sentence I select I can’t undo the harm that is done.”
He noted that last Sunday would have been Mr Lorigan’s 73rd birthday, adding that it should have been a day of celebration for his family.
