Garda dragged 80ft by car thought she was 'going to die'

Detective Garda Catherine McCarthy was pushed off the side of a car speeding from a drugs transaction and the back wheel of the car rolled over her

Detective Sergeant Michael Lyons told Cork Circuit Criminal Court: “It was the most dangerous incident I have been involved in in 30 years' service."

A pioneering member of An Garda Síochána was pushed off the side of a car speeding from a drugs transaction and as a back wheel of the car rolled over her it was her worst ever feeling of fear and helplessness and she thought – “I am going to die.” 

This was the experience of Detective Garda Catherine McCarthy as the man who admitted endangering her life, Martin Keohane of Derrygreen, Skibbereen, County Cork, was remanded in custody for sentencing on May 18 for that offence and for obstructing a drugs search and related charges.