By Fiona Ferguson
A disqualified driver who killed a pedestrian while evading the gardai and showing “a complete disregard for lives of others” has been jailed for six years.
Michael Mc Guirk (23) had earlier been spotted by gardai breaking a red light, and they turned to follow him. In his high-speed attempts to evade the gardai, he crossed onto the wrong side of the road and collided with Carol Seery (67), who was crossing the road with her husband.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Mc Guirk’s brake lights did not activate, he did not alter his course or take evasive action, and he continued at speed before abandoning the car nearby.
Carol Seery, who is survived by her husband, three children and six grandchildren, was described in court as a “very much-loved woman” who was a caregiver at the heart of a loving family.
Her family submitted victim impact statements but did not wish for them to be read in open court.
Michael Mc Guirk of Cashel Avenue, Crumlin, Dublin 12, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death, endangerment, dangerous driving and driving without insurance at Phibsborough Road and surrounding areas on October 4, 2023.
McGuirk has 66 previous convictions, including three for dangerous driving, seven for unlawful taking of cars, five for unlawful interference with cars and three for no insurance. He was disqualified from driving for four years at the time of this offence.
His other convictions include robbery, burglary, assault, criminal damage, possession of knives, failing to appear and trespass.
Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Elva Duffy said Mrs Seery and her husband had been having a pleasant evening when their family’s lives changed forever.
She said the victim impact statements she had read were very moving in outlining the loss of “this very much loved woman.” She said Carol Seery should have been at the prime of her life and was at the heart of her loving family. She said nothing the court could do would alleviate their loss.
She said the caring and deeply loved person Carol was shined through in her family’s words.
Judge Duffy said Mc Guirk’s motivation had been to evade gardai as he was in a car he should not have been in. She noted his tragic family circumstances and early struggles in school. She took into account he had used his time in custody wisely in the past and had tried to move his life forward.
The judge said his attempts at rehabilitation were a “double-edged sword” in that he had been making attempts to move his life in a positive direction but also took actions which had led to offending in his past, such as buying a car while uninsured and driving to evade gardai.
She noted he has to live with what he has done and had displayed genuine remorse, which was backed by a psychologist’s report. She said his early plea was valuable and noted his young age.
Judge Duffy said the aggravating factors included the nature of the driving, speed and that he had crossed to the wrong side of the road while approaching a rise, which was a particularly dangerous place to be on the wrong side of the road.
She also noted his previous convictions and failure to stop at the scene.
Judge Duffy set a headline sentence of eight and half years and imposed a sentence of six years taking the mitigating circumstances into account. She imposed a 15-year driving disqualification.
Detective Garda Kevin Bambrick told Fionnuala O’Sullivan BL, prosecuting, that two gardai observed McGuirk, the sole occupant of a Honda Civic, break a red light at Botanic Road and turned to follow him back towards the city centre, activating their lights.
They then observed him overtake two cars and break a further red light. The gardai activated their siren. They saw him undertake two cars and continue onto the Phibsborough Road, driving at significant speed and moving towards the wrong side of the road.
McGuirk ran down Mrs Seery with his car as she was crossing the road with her husband.
Det Gda Bambrick said there was no activation of McGuirk’s brake lights and he did not appear to alter course. He said there was no slowing observed and no evasive action taken.
Mrs Seery’s husband said he had noticed the lights of the car coming towards them at speed before hearing a bang and turning to find his wife motionless on the road. They had almost finished crossing the road. Mrs Seery received medical attention but had been killed immediately.
The car was later located at Avondale Avenue severely damaged and a mixed DNA profile, including McGuirk’s was recovered. He had bought the car on October 1, 2023 and paid using Revolut.
Gardai collected over 200 hours of CCTV and traced McGuirk’s movements in the car. The judge viewed CCTV footage of McGuirk’s driving and the collision on a laptop.
A forensic collision report noted he had been travelling at 96.4 kilometres per hour in a 50kmph zone when the collision occurred. The road conditions were very good.
Det Gda Bambrick told the court it was an exceptionally dangerous area to be on the wrong side due to a rise in the road. He said this area was frequently heavy with traffic.
McGuirk was arrested on November 2, 2023, and interviewed five times. Nothing of value emerged from the interviews and he answered “no comment” when inferences invoked due to presence of his DNA on the controls of the car were put to him. He has been in custody since that time.
Michael Bowman SC, defending, said he was conscious that the bereaved family were present and nothing he said should detract from the loss they had suffered as a direct result of his client’s actions.
He said McGuirk had written a letter of apology, acknowledging the enormous harm and upset and loss he had visited on the Seery family. He said he will never forgive himself for or escape from his actions.
Counsel handed in a psychological report and outlined his client’s brother had been murdered when he was 16 years old, and his father and another sibling were absent from the family home due to spending time in prison.
Mr Bowman said McGuirk’s family home had also been targeted, and he had rescued his siblings and mother from a fire at the home. He struggled in school and was diagnosed with ADHD.
He said McGuirk had purchased the car and been at his partner’s home on this particular evening. He was aware if detected by gardai he would be returned to prison and drove in the way he did.
Mr Bowman said this was not to excuse his client’s actions but to contextualise them.
He described how McGuirk has worked on bettering himself and engaged in education in recent years. He said he acknowledged the gravity and devastation of his actions but submitted he had shown resilience and a commitment to rehabilitation and could make a contribution to society.
He also asked the court to take into account his early guilty plea and testimonials before the court.
Judge Duffy commented in considering this submission that the rehabilitation appeared to be somewhat “self-serving” and noted the CCTV shows “complete disregard for lives of others.”
Defence counsel asked the court not to shut out his client’s capacity to learn from this and asked for light at the end of the tunnel.