Melbourne Rose who lost brother to drink driver wants tougher sentences
Dervla Dolan is working to change the law to increase the sentencing for drink drivers, saying that killing someone while drink driving is technically manslaughter.
Drink drivers who kill people on the roads should face tougher sentences, says one of this year’s Rose of Tralee contestants.
Dervla Dolan's 18-year-old brother Enda was killed by a drink driver on her 16th birthday.
She says killing someone while drink driving is “technically” manslaughter.
The 25-year-old Melbourne Rose from Killyclogher, Co Tyrone, wants these drivers to be treated accordingly and face life sentences.
She also says people, especially young people, need to be reminded that their vehicles are “weapons” and need to understand the consequences of their actions while driving.
The history teacher, who emigrated to Melbourne in 2022, says governments on both sides of the border need to put drink drivers behind bars for longer.
The headline sentence in Ireland for drink driving causing death is between six and 10 years. However, if they were to be charged with and subsequently found guilty of manslaughter, they could face a life sentence, which is a minimum of 12 years.
Ahead of Monday’s Rose of Tralee opening selection night in Kerry, Dervla told the : “I would say to anybody getting behind the wheel, and particularly to young drivers as well, that they need to remember that a vehicle is a weapon.
“They need to remember all the consequences that come with reckless driving.
“My family and I are currently working really hard to change the law to increase the sentencing for drink drivers. We feel like there needs to be more of a deterrent.
“There are still so many deaths occurring and deaths that can be prevented.
On the death of her brother, to whom she had been particularly close, she said: “It happened on the night of my 16th birthday, so it definitely shaped the person that I've become today.
“It definitely made me realise from a young age the importance of being safe.”
Enda, who had just started studying architecture at Queen's University in Belfast, was walking home at around 2.30am on October 15, 2014, when a van driven by David Lee Stewart mounted the pavement.
A court later heard that earlier in the evening, the 31-year-old father of three had taken drugs and drank at least six pints of beer and four so-called Jagerbombs.
After he hit Enda, the impact threw the teenager onto the roof of his van and he carried on driving for around 730m before he stopped.
A court later heard Stewart's passenger got out of the van and was seen standing beside Enda’s body after it had fallen off the roof of the van onto the road.
He then got back into the van before Stewart drove off and later crashed again.
As well as pleading guilty to other motoring offences, Stewart pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
He received a seven-year prison sentence in April 2016, of which three-and-a-half years were to be in prison and the rest out on licence.
However, in January 2017, the amount of time he had to spend in jail was increased by another year on appeal.
Dervla says that while it is important for her to campaign for road safety, she also wants people to realise it is possible to “overcome these things that have happened to us”.
She described the charity work she and her family have done as “something that's become really positive since he died”.
An ardent marathon runner, she, along with her family, established Run for Enda in memory of her brother.
As well as helping people to train for and take part in marathons, it raises money for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, which helps families to bring home the remains of loved ones who die abroad.
On being a Rose, she said: “The main reason why most of us are here is because it's such a great celebration of women and particularly Irish women.
“Many of us are proud, very proud of where we come from.”
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