Dublin man convicted for Arklow murder

A Dublin man who ran down an Arklow 21-year-old in his car is the first person in Ireland to be convicted of murder using a motor vehicle as a weapon.

Anthony O’Reilly, aged 22, with an address at Cleggan Park, Ballyfermot, Dublin, was found guilty of murdering Daniel McDonald, 21, by a jury of six men and six women, with a majority verdict of 11 to 1 after seven hours and nine minutes of deliberation.

The jury in the Central Criminal Court at Dublin also found O’Reilly guilty of dangerous driving causing the death of Mr McDonald and reckless endangerment.

Mr McDonald’s family were absent from The Four Courts when the verdict was read having suffered another family bereavement, the court heard.

Mr Justice Kevin O’Higgins told an unemotional O’Reilly he had to sentence him to the mandatory life sentence but he would be called back to be sentenced on the lesser charges of reckless endangerment and dangerous driving causing death on May 29 when Mr McDonald’s family would read a victim impact statement.

The case is the first to come before Irish courts where a person has been charged with murder using a motor vehicle as a weapon.

During the trial the court heard the men had been fighting in Arklow’s Rascals Disco and after being thrown out the pair continued to trade abuse.

O’Reilly ran and jumped into the passenger seat of a black car driven by Jenny Tobin as Mr McDonald kicked him through the passenger window.

Mr McDonald’s foot got stuck and O’Reilly told Miss Tobin to “drive the f****n car.”

Mr McDonald fell free and Miss Tobin drove off with O’Reilly banging the dashboard and yelling abuse demanding to be taken to his friend’s house to get a shotgun.

Witnesses said O’Reilly had been acting like the antichrist outside Rascals threatening bouncers and others telling Mr McDonald he was dead.

As Miss Tobin drove back into the main street O’Reilly grabbed her steering wheel forcing her car in the direction of Mr McDonald who was standing near the footpath and just missing him.

Still fuming he saw his friend Keith Ennis driving his own red Honda Civic so he got out of Miss Tobin’s car and into his own flying down main street giving Mr McDonald and his friend the fingers as he passed.

O’Reilly then did a three point turn and came back up the street as Mr McDonald walked on to the road to meet him.

Some witnesses said Mr McDonald put his hands up in a gesture telling O’Reilly to stop, others said the gesture was more of a “come on” challenge.

Either way the court heard O’Reilly’s Honda was redlining in Mr McDonald’s direction.

When he mowed Mr McDonald down O’Reilly was 100% in the wrong lane doing at least 50mph.

Mr McDonald was thrown 78 feet in the air on impact and thrown 32.8 metres down Arklow’s main street shattering his skull and tearing his brain tissue.

O’Reilly ran from the scene and went to Arklow’s Garda station where he claimed he had been set upon by three Arklow heavies and demanded something be done about it.

When he was told the Sergeant had to leave to attend an accident scene O’Reilly said; “I didn’t mean for him to die, I was driving the car that hit him, he f****d up messing with me, f*** him anyway.”

He later claimed he was going so hard he couldn’t stop.

“I just remember him walking out and boom,” O’Reilly told Gardaí in interviews.

“I just saw his face and I knew something was terribly wrong,” O’Reilly said.