Labour refers judge to Judicial Council over “nightmare cyclists” comment

Labour TD Ciarán Ahern has submitted a formal complaint to the Judicial Council following remarks about cyclists made by Judge James O’Donohoe.

Last week, Judge O’Donohoe commented that cyclists have become a “nightmare” in Dublin.

Judge O’Donohoe made his comments in the context of a court case where a cyclist suffered a brain injury when he collided with a motorbike.

Ahern, TD for Dublin South-West, called Judge O’Donohoe’s remarks “problematic” and accused him of “exhibiting a clear perception of bias against cyclists in his decision-making.”

“These comments were beyond what was necessary to determine the matter before the court, and what’s more, they have opened the floodgates around negative, uninformed remarks about cyclists,” he said.

14 cyclists lost their lives on Irish roads in 2025, the highest number since 2017; it is in this climate, Ahern argues, that Judge O’Donohoe’s comments are problematic.

“Rather than pitting road users against each other as Judge O’Donohoe has sought to do, we should be encouraging all road users to take greater care of their own road use, and to protect other,” he said.

The Labour transport spokesperson dismissed the “cyclists have become a nightmare in Dublin” trope as an “untrue, unfair and frankly ignorant statement.”

“The reality is actually much the opposite – being a cyclist is often a nightmare with a lack of safe, segregated cycle lanes, dangerous junctions, poor lighting, poor maintenance of existing bike lanes and record levels of bike theft among some of the many issues cyclists face in Dublin and across the country.”

“The decision delivered in the Circuit Civil Court included remarks made by Judge O’Donohue that generalised negatively about cyclists as a reckless category of road users, rather than confining his analysis strictly to the facts and evidence of the individual case,” he stated.

Ahern remarked, “it appears that Judge O’Donohoe may be unable to make an unbiased decision in relation to a category of road users to which he has expressed such disdain.”

In the wake of Judge O’Donohoe’s comments, Ahern said he has formally submitted a complaint to the Judicial Council on this matter.

“I’ve asked that considerations be given to encourage Judge O’Donohoe to engage with the families of the 45 cyclist fatalities on Irish roads over the last 5 years to understand properly the many and serious risks associated with cycling in Ireland,” he added.