Silence in court for a mother’s words

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin insisted on silence in Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday as Margaret Sheehan’s poignant and powerful victim impact statement was read.

Keith Sheehan, aged 23, died in Aug 2010 when a friend’s car sped through a junction in a Co Cork town, and struck a pillar of a house.

Judge Ó Donnabháin, described the victim impact statement as “the most impressive” he had ever read.

“Every young man who gets a licence to drive in this country should read it,” he said.

Echoing Mrs Sheehan’s sentiments, Judge Ó Donnabháin said young men in cars often believe in their invincibility.

The driver, 23-year-old Paddy Buckley from Ballyvoushill, Millstreet, Co Cork, pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving causing death at Gurteenroe, Macroom, on Aug 29, 2010. He was jailed for three years, with 18 months suspended, and banned from driving for six years.

From the witness box, Buckley told Mrs Sheehan: “I feel terrible. I lie awake at night thinking about Keith. I know there is nothing I can do about it now.”