Last respects to man rolled over by garda

FAMILY and friends of Derek O’Toole gathered in his native west Dublin yesterday to pay their final tributes to the young man who died in mysterious circumstances more than a week ago.

A funeral service for the 24-year-old from Neilstown, Clondalkin, was held yesterday at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in his native Rowlagh parish.

His body had been returned to his grieving family on Friday after a week of controversy. A huge crowd attended yesterday’s funeral service, presided over by parish priest Fr John Dunphy. Afterwards, Mr O’Toole’s body was taken to Newland’s Cremetorium.

Mr O’Toole, who had beaten leukaemia twice as a child, died after a car driven by an off-duty garda rolled over him on the main street in Lucan at 5am on Sunday, March 4.

A post mortem indicated that Derek was lying on the road when he was struck by the vehicle, although it is still uncertain how he came to be in a prostrate position.

He had been socialising into the early hours of Sunday morning and had shared a taxi to Lucan with a Lithuanian barmaid who lived in the area.

Yesterday, Labour Senator Joanna Tuffy wrote to the Garda Ombudsman Commission, which comes into operation in May, calling for it to investigate the death.

In particular, she wants it to investigate: why a newspaper reported that Mr O’Toole was “known to gardaí” when he had no criminal record and was hailed as a model son by his mother Christine; why the O’Toole family were not informed on Sunday that an off-duty garda was driving the car that struck Derek; and why the driver, Damien Carey, was breathalysed in the city centre, and not closer to the scene.

Last week, gardaí said the breath-testing took place in a station where an alcolyser device was available. It emerged at the weekend that Grda Carey was released into the custody of his uncle, a garda inspector, following his release that Sunday morning.

A garda investigation is ongoing, led by Supt Mark Curran, district officer for the Lucan area. He transferred to Coolock station last week, but is still working on the case. Late last week gardaí issued a fresh appeal for any new witnesses to come forward.

Derek’s father, Derek snr, and his mother were among the mourners at yesterday’s service. A number of people who worked with Derek spoke at the end of the service of how he had helped others throughout his life.