Drunk driver who killed boy, 4, jailed ‘as an example’

A drunk driver jailed for the death of a four-year-old boy was sentenced “as an example” to the wider community “rather than an individual”, his lawyers have submitted to the Court of Appeal.

Finbarr O’Rourke, aged 41, from Laurel Drive, Portlaoise, Co Laois, had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Ciarán Treacy, aged 4, at Ballymorris, Portarlington, on April 17, 2014. Ciarán’s mother, Gillian, was also severely injured as a result of the incident.

Judge Keenan Johnson sentenced O’Rourke to seven and a half years imprisonment at Portlaoise Circuit Criminal Court on November 3, 2015.