'I didn’t have a drink, I had a shandy': Limerick man jailed over fatal crash

Niall O'Halloran drove car onto wrong side of road and into way of Arturs Birznieks' lorry, who subsequently lost control

Niall O’Halloran: Found guilty of dangerous driving causing death, with a six-month sentence to run concurrently for driving while intoxicated. Picture:
Brendan Gleeson

A Limerick man has been jailed for seven years for causing the death of a father-of-two and for driving while intoxicated.

Judge Simon McAleese imposed a seven-year jail sentence on Niall O’Halloran, aged 57, of Woodfield Drive, Newcastle West, after he was found guilty of dangerous driving causing death, with a six-month sentence to run concurrently for driving while intoxicated.

O’Halloran was convicted following a trial at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.

Judge McAleese summarised the evidence on Wednesday, taking into account the victim impact statements from the family of Arturs Birznieks, who died as a result of the collision.

The court heard O’Halloran was intoxicated when he drove his car into the path of a truck on the N21 in the early hours of March 18, 2022, at Reens East, Ardagh, Co Limerick.

Mr Birznieks, from Latvia and residing in Mayo, had been driving a lorry pulling a container full of chickens when the collision occurred.

Judge McAleese described the victim impact statements as “brief but tragically eloquent”. He singled out Mr Birznieks’ wife hope that the court will take into account the full extent of the family’s suffering.

The court heard how O’Halloran drove his car onto the wrong side of the road and into the way of Mr Birznieks’ vehicle. The deceased steered his lorry away from O’Halloran’s car in an effort to avoid the collision. 

After slowing down, Mr Birznieks lost control of his vehicle after O’Halloran’s car hit the front of the passenger side of the lorry. The lorry then struck a wall, and Mr Birznieks died on the scene.

During interviews with gardaí, O’Halloran claimed that Mr Birznieks’s vehicle veered into his path before the collision.

'Attempt to blame victim was atrocious'

Judge McAleese said O’Halloran’s “attempt to blame the victim was atrocious” and that the injuries he suffered following the collision were “self-inflicted”.

The court heard the accused had a “strong smell of alcohol” and was “slurring” his words.

It was estimated he was six times over the legal limit. He was also injured in the collision and was taken to the hospital where a blood test taken hours later found he had a certified reading of 179mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

The court heard O’Halloran told investigating gardaí: “I didn’t have a drink, I had a shandy”.

When gardaí put it to him he had been drunk at the time of the collision, he replied that he “couldn’t care less”. 

Asked if he had any feelings towards the deceased, the court heard O’Halloran said he had “enough to deal with my own injuries”.

In her victim impact statement, Mr Birznieks’ wife Ina said: “There are things that can never be restored or fixed. The loss of a husband and a father has changed our family forever.”

Throughout the proceedings, the accused maintained that he “didn’t cause an accident”.

Mark Nicholas, defending, said his client was out of work for quite some time due to his injuries.

Lily Buckley, prosecuting, instructed by State solicitor Brendan Gill, said O’Halloran had previously been convicted in May 2011 for driving while being intoxicated. He was fined €400 and disqualified from driving for three years.

Judge McAleese said “lessons must be learned from such convictions”.