Report on Monaghan death ‘does not get to the heart’ of why killer was free
Shane O'Farrell was cycling home when he was struck by a car driven by Zigimantas Gridziuska near Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan.
A report into the death of a man in Monaghan over a decade ago "does not get to the heart" of why the man who killed him was not in prison at the time, the Dáil has been told.
TDs have read statements on the scoping exercise carried out into the death of Shane O'Farrell.
On the evening of August 2, 2011, Mr O’Farrell was cycling home when he was struck by a car driven by Zigimantas Gridziuska near Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan.
Gridziuska had previous convictions for offences including aggravated burglary, road traffic offences, and the handling of stolen property.
Five years ago, a Dáil motion called for a full inquiry, but Justice Minister Helen McEntee, in 2021, asked a retired judge, Gerard Haughton, to carry out a review which was published in July.
That report recommended against an inquiry and said that Mr O'Farrell bore some responsibility for his own death.
Sinn Féin TD for Cavan-Monaghan Matt Carthy said the exercise had not adequately answered the question of why Gridziuska was at liberty at the time. Both he and his party leader Mary Lou McDonald said that there had been allegations that Gridziuska was a Garda informant.
In her opening statement, Ms McEntee said that Mr Justice Haughton "carried out a very thorough review of all relevant material and has produced a robust and measured report" across his 416-page review.
She said that a file had been held in the Garda National Crime and Security Intelligence Service regarding Gridziuska.
Ms McEntee also said that an order banning Gridziuska from Ireland had expired this year and that a new one had not yet been issued because he had not yet been tracked down.
"To make a further exclusion order, the person in question must be notified of the minister's intention to make it and must be given an opportunity to make representations to the minister in this regard."
She said that she understood the outcome was not that wished for by the O'Farrell family but said that the reviews of bail, suspended sentencing, and the Road Traffic Act would be implemented.
In response, Mr Carthy said that Gridziuska had "got away scot-free" every time he had come to Garda attention.
"On 11 January 2011, seven or eight months before Shane was killed, Mr Zigimantas Gridziuska was appearing before Monaghan Circuit Court," he said. "He had pled guilty to charges of theft and stealing property in 2010. The case was adjourned for one year. The judge actually said Mr Gridziuska had been free of conviction since July 2010.
"The judge clearly did not have the full facts because Mr Gridziuska was not free of conviction since July 2010.
"On every single occasion that he appeared before a judge and a court, vital information that would have led to a different determination by that judge was not conveyed to him or her.
"Mr Gridziuska was in breach of multiple bail conditions of multiple courts."
Mr Carthy said the key question in the matter was whether Mr Gridziuska was an informant for the gardaí.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
