Man appeals 10-year term for fatal driving incident

A disqualified driver who was “two and a half times over the limit” when he crashed an uninsured, unroadworthy, and overloaded car, has moved to appeal his 10-year prison sentence for dangerous driving causing death.

Brian McDonagh, aged 25, of Toombeola, Roundstone, Connemara, had pleaded guilty at Galway Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Thomas McDonagh, 19, in a single-vehicle incident near Kylemore, Connemara, on February 2, 2014. He was also convicted of driving with no insurance.

Judge Rory McCabe sentenced McDonagh to 10 years imprisonment with the final two suspended on July 7, 2015, and disqualified him from driving for 20 years. The maximum sentence for dangerous driving causing death is 10 years.