Drunk driver who killed cyclist had children in car and open wine bottle on passenger seat

Woman jailed for four and a half years for dangerous driving causing death of teacher

Saoirse Lillis McMahon was driving under the influence of alcohol and had a 'cocktail' of drugs in her system.

A drunk driver who had her two young children in the car and an open bottle of wine on the passenger seat hit and killed a cyclist, a court has heard.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Francis Comerford imposed a five-year prison term, with the final six months suspended, on Saoirse Lillis McMahon, aged 33, for dangerous driving the causing death of teacher Michael Lorigan, 70, on August 16, 2023, on the N67 at Baunmore, Kilkee, west Clare.

Judge Comerford also imposed a seven-year driving ban on Lillis McMahon, of Moveen East, Kilkee, who was driving under the influence of alcohol and had a "cocktail" of drugs in her system, including cocaine.

During the sentencing hearing, Lillis McMahon wept as the circumstances around the crash were laid out and during four victim impact statements read out in court.

Imposing sentence, Judge Comerford said Lillis McMahon was driving the car “when she was completely unfit to drive and posed a real danger to anyone that she came across”.

He said Lillis McMahon posed “a very real danger” to her two boys, aged 6 and 9 at the time, who were passengers in the car, due to the intoxicants that she had taken.

Mr Lorigan was coming towards the end of a 88km cycle and was just 8km away from meeting his wife, Dympna, in Kilkee where the two planned to celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary.

Driving erratically

In a  victim impact statement, Dympna said she passed Michael out in her car at 12.15pm on the day on her way to Kilkee — “that was the last time I saw him alive”.

Ten minutes later, gardaí received a call from a motorist of a car driving erratically on the N67. Before gardaí arrived, the same motorist phoned again to say that she had just witnessed that same blue Vauxhall Astra car hit a cyclist.

Garda Noreen King told the court that Lillis McMahon’s car struck Mr Lorigan’s car from behind as the two were both heading towards Kilkee.

Garda King said motorists had witnessed Lillis McMahon’s car swerving across the road before impact. Garda King said that conditions for driving were good on the day and that Lillis McMahon struck Mr Lorigan on a long straight stretch of road.

Mr Lorigan was wearing a helmet.

Sarah Jane Comerford, for the State, said an autopsy found that Mr Lorigan died from blunt force injuries to the neck and head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Garda King said Lillis McMahon and her two children were all visibly upset at the scene. An open bottle of wine was observed on the front passenger seat of her car.

Ms Comerford said Lillis McMahon was unsteady on her feet and was cautioned immediately due to the strong smell of alcohol. She subsequently failed a test for alcohol where she showed a 93mg of alcohol per 100ml of urine. The legal limit is 67mg of alcohol. She was 50% over the legal limit.

'I cannot believe I have killed a man'

Garda crash scene investigator Brendan Condon found that Lillis McMahon was driving at a speed of between 81km/h and 99 km/h before impact and did not brake.  The speed limit for that stretch of road was 100km/h.

His report found that the car was dangerously defective.

Garda King said that after caution, Lillis McMahon said: “I cannot believe that I have killed a man."

 Lillis McMahon had stayed with a friend the previous night in Crusheen where there were some drugs taken.

At Garda interview, Lillis McMahon expressed remorse and said she thought of Mr Lorigan’s wife all the time.

 She said: “I am sorry it happened — the night before wasn’t planned at all. I had my kids with me. It shouldn’t have happened. I think about his wife all the time. 

“I am so sorry. I felt really guilty just walking after it happened. I haven’t left the house in months — I didn’t want to drive the car that morning but I knew that I had to leave that house."

Defence speaks

Lorcan Connolly, for Lillis McMahon, said his client wants to acknowledge "the profound and irreversible loss suffered by Mr Lorigan’s wife, family, friends, and wider community".

Mr Connolly said that Mr Lorigan “was a gifted person and his loss is enormous” and he was completely and utterly blameless for what happened on the day.

He said that “in a heartbeat the accused would switch places”.

Mr Connolly said Lillis McMahon “won’t be able to forgive herself and she will continue to live with shame and regret”.

He said she has lost custody of her children, lost her job, and lives in isolation from her community. He said she had a history of mental health difficulties.

The court was told Lillis McMahon was uninsured to drive the Vauxhall Astra and was disqualified from driving on the day but that disqualification was subsequently overturned on appeal.

Judge Comerford imposed a headline prison term of 96 months, reduced to 60 months due to Lillis McMahon's early plea of guilty and remorse.

Judge Comerford suspended the final six months on condition that she co-operate with the Probation Service after the service stated that it can intervene with her problematic drink and drug taking.

Michael Lorigan: Cyclist was just 8km from destination when he was hit

Addressing Dympna Lorigan and members of her family, Judge Comerford said that “no matter what sentence I select, I can’t undo the harm that is done”.

Judge Comerford noted that last Sunday would have been Mr Lorigan’s 73rd birthday and should have been a day of celebration.

Lillis McMahon wept as she was led away out of the courtroom by prison officers to commence her sentence.