Latest news with #Gridziuska
RTÉ News
28-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Police Ombudsman in contact with Shane O'Farrell's family
The Police Ombudsman has said that it has been in direct contact with the family of Shane O'Farrell today. The family yesterday received a public apology from the Government, who admitted there had been "failures" on the part of the State in relation to Mr O'Farrell's death. The 23-year-old law graduate was knocked off his bicycle and killed in a hit-and-run incident near his home in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan in August 2011. The car that hit Mr O'Farrell was driven by Zigimantas Gridziuska. The Lithuanian national was a repeat offender on bail. A court ruling meant that he should have been in jail at the time of the collision due to his re-offending. Despite receiving the public apology from the Government yesterday, Shane's mother, Lucia said there are still questions to be answered in terms of how such circumstances could transpire that Gridziuska was on the road that day almost 14 years ago. Speaking outside the Dáil yesterday, Ms O'Farrell said: "Did you hear the litany of times he [Gridziuska] should have been brought back and wasn't, and why did that happen? Nobody is asking why. "I think those answers need to be given to us. "It doesn't have to be in the public inquiry, it can be in the GSOC [now Fiosrú - The Office of the Police Ombudsman] reports that have been refused to us. "There is a file on him [Gridziuska] in the Garda National Crime and Security Intelligence Service, what is in that file? "Our child lies in a grave. We should be given the answers and, apologies, yes, if it goes so far but we do need answers to our questions," Ms O'Farrell said. In a brief statement this evening, a spokesperson for Fiosrú said: "The Police Ombudsman has been in direct contact with O'Farrell family this afternoon and for now is not making any statement on the matter." The Office of the Police Ombudsman, Fiosrú, took over the responsibilities of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) from the beginning of last month. It is now the independent body that deals with complaints by the members of the public concerning members of An Garda Síochána.
Belfast Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
O'Farrell family left with ‘unanswered questions' after minister's apology
The family of a Monaghan cyclist who was killed in a hit-and-run crash almost 14 years ago said they still have 'unanswered' questions' following an apology from the Minister for Justice. On August 2 2011, law graduate Shane O'Farrell, 23, was cycling home when he was struck by a car in the Carrickmacross area of Co Monaghan. On Tuesday, Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan announced a review into bail and suspended sentences after he apologised to the family for failures in the criminal justice system that exposed Mr O'Farrell to danger. The driver of the car, Zigimantas Gridziuska, failed to remain at the scene. The Lithuanian national had a number of previous convictions including for theft and drugs offences. The Dail heard that the day he struck Mr O'Farrell, Gridziuska should have been in jail for breaches of bail conditions that were applied to him at the time. In one instance, the late Judge John O'Hagan had told him that he would be 'going to prison' if he got in trouble again after January 11 2011. He received multiple convictions after that date, for which he lodged appeals. He was also serving a number of suspended sentences and there had been numerous warrants for his arrest which had not been executed. In addition, the Garda Drug Squad stopped the car approximately one hour before the collision and the Dail has previously heard it was observed to be in a dangerous, defective condition, but allowed to continue with Gridziuska as the driver. Gridziuska was prosecuted in February 2013 for dangerous driving causing Mr O'Farrell's death. He was acquitted of that charge by direction of the trial judge and, under the law at the time, a lesser charge of careless driving was not open to the jury. The Dail heard that he has returned to Lithuania. Mr O'Farrell's family have been calling for a public inquiry into the circumstances of his death and why Gridziuska had not been in jail. That call was supported by Fianna Fail TD Mr O'Callaghan while he was in opposition. Mr O'Callaghan, who has since become Minister for Justice, told the Dail in March that he cannot now ignore that a scoping exercise into Mr O'Farrell's death recommended that there should be no further public inquiry. Delivering an apology to the O'Farrell family in the Dail on Tuesday, he said he did not need a public inquiry to establish the facts in the case or address failings that led to the fatal incident. He acknowledged that the Dail and Seanad had previously voted to support an inquiry, but added that he did not need one to confront those failings or issue the apology. Mr O'Callaghan said Mr O'Farrell had his 'whole life ahead of him' and that his 'loss was incalculable'. He said he could not alleviate the pain felt by the family and added: 'It is incumbent on me as Minister for Justice to apologise to Shane O'Farrell and the O'Farrell family for the fact that the criminal justice system did not protect him as it should have.' Mr O'Callaghan announced a range of reforms including a review of bail laws and suspended sentences, as well as an amendment to road traffic laws to allow juries to consider a lesser charge of careless driving in instances where a trial judge has directed the acquittal of a person on dangerous driving. 'The legitimate questions that the O'Farrell family have asked are why the persistent breaches of bail conditions by Gridziuska, through the commission of further offences, did not trigger a response under our criminal justice code, and why were consecutive sentences not imposed in respect of the offences he committed whilst on bail, and why warrants that were issued were not executed.' He added: 'The broader question that needs to be answered is how our criminal justice system should respond to a recidivist offender who persistently breaks summary laws and whether, even if the theft offences had been brought back to the attention of Judge O'Hagan, the Judge would have had the jurisdiction through statutory power to remand Gridziuska in custody.' The minister also announced plans to memorialise Mr O'Farrell with a Department of Justice-funded scholarship that will be awarded to a student who distinguishes him or herself in the Masters in Law degree at University College Dublin every year. In a statement, the family said it welcomes the 'long overdue State apology' for the 'catalogue of systemic failures' that led to his death. His sister Gemma O'Farrell said: 'Today's State apology is significant, and a solemn recognition of the systemic failure that 'exposed Shane to a threat to which he should not have been exposed' and which cost him his life.' Speaking to reporters outside Leinster House, Shane's sister Hannah said the family is still left with 'unanswered questions' about the circumstances around how Gridziuska was at large at time of the incident. Shane's mother Lucia O'Farrell said they are still seeking the publication of reports into the matter by the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission which have been refused to them, as well as a file on Gridziuska with the Garda National Crime and Security Intelligence Service. She said: 'Our child lies in a grave – we should be given the answers. 'An apology, yes, it goes so far but we do need answers to our questions – and that doesn't have to be through a long process of an inquiry.' Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said the apology was a vindication of the 'courageous and relentless pursuit of truth and justice' by the O'Farrell family. However, Ms McDonald said no answers had been provided to 'credible allegations' that Gridziuska 'had been operating as a garda informer'. She also said that the 'bereft family' had been 'forced to battle for more than a decade against a State and a system that should have their backs'. Ms McDonald said: 'This person was routinely able to flout bail, court orders and custodial sentences. 'He hit and killed a young man with his car – at a time when he should have been in jail. 'The big unanswered question is this: why he was at liberty on the night that he fatally struck Shane with this car?' Prior to the apology, Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Tanaiste Simon Harris also acknowledged the deep pain, trauma and sense of loss suffered by the family and commended their bravery.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Irish government apologises to family of hit-and-run victim
The Irish government has apologised to the family of a cyclist who was killed in a hit-and-run caused by a driver who should have been in jail. Shane O'Farrell, 23, was struck by a car while cycling near his home in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, in 2011. The driver, Zigimantas Gridziuska, had more than 40 convictions at the time, including some in Northern Ireland. Speaking in the Dáil Éireann on Tuesday, Tánaiste (Ireland's deputy prime minister) Simon Harris TD said: "We acknowledge failures in the Courts Service and the criminal justice system that exposed Shane to danger on the fateful day of his tragic death." The O'Farrell family have campaigned for a public inquiry into their son's death. The body of the law graduate was found nearly 60 yards (54m) from the point where he was hit by a car on 2 August 2011. Gridziuska, a Lithuanian national, left the scene of the fatal crash but the following day he handed himself into gardaí (Irish police). He had been a regular defendant in courts in Monaghan, Cavan and Louth in the years prior to the killing, according to RTÉ. In the January, before the fatal crash, a ruling from Monaghan Circuit Court meant Gridziuska should have been in jail at the time of Mr O'Farrell's death. Instead, he remained on bail. Another prison sentence handed down in February 2011 was also not imposed. The Court Services of Ireland previously said Gridziuska's prison sentences were never served because of what it described as an administrative error. As part of their long-running campaign, the O'Farrell family have previously travelled to Belfast and Brussels to raise their case in Stormont and the European Parliament. Harris hopes that the apology can "in some small way can start to heal the wounds left by Shane's untimely death". "The harrowing events of that day in August 2011 were just the beginning of a living nightmare for the O'Farrell family," he said. Harris added that the government has made "a number of decisions" which have been recommended by the minister and have risen from the campaign of the O'Farrell family. He hopes these decisions will "bring about meaningful change" and said that Minister O'Callaghan will outline these decisions in more detail. "As tánaiste, I fully endorse and support the apology." Irish government to apologise over fatal crash Shane O'Farrell: Irish PM to meet family of County Monaghan hit-and-run victim
RTÉ News
27-05-2025
- RTÉ News
Govt to issue apology to family of Shane O'Farrell
The Government will issue an apology to the family of a Co Monaghan man who was killed in a hit-and-run incident almost 14 years ago. The apology follows years of campaigning by the family of 23-year-old Shane O'Farrell, who was killed while out cycling near his home in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, on 2 August 2011. The driver of the car, Zigimantas Gridziuska, should have been in custody at the time of the killing. Gridziuska left the scene but later handed himself into gardaí. Gridzuiska had been a regular defendant before the District and Circuit Criminal courts in Monaghan, Cavan and Louth in the years prior to the killing. Seven months before the hit-and-run, he was before the Circuit Criminal Court on a number of theft charges. Judge John O'Hagan deferred his sentencing on that day, but ordered that the Lithuanian national be brought back before him if he committed any more offences and he would be jailed. Just months later, Gridziuska was convicted of five charges of theft at Ardee District Court - but he was not brought back before Judge O'Hagan as ordered and received a suspended sentence. The judge at the Ardee court was not informed of Judge O'Hagan's order. This afternoon, following years of campaigning by the O'Farrell family, Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan will offer them a public apology in Dáil. The family have long called for a public inquiry to be set up into the justice system that they say "failed" Shane - something that Minister O'Callaghan also previously called for when in opposition. The O'Farrell family are expected to be in the Dáil to hear the apology.
Irish Independent
27-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan to apologise to family of hit-and-run victim Shane O'Farrell as bail laws come in for scrutiny
The 23-year-old law graduate was killed in a hit-and-run while cycling near his home in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, in August 2011 by Zigimantas Gridziuska, who was out on bail at the time, including for driving offences. Shane's mother, Lucia O'Farrell, has for years campaigned for a full public inquiry, saying they don't know why the driver who killed her son was at liberty at the time of the killing. While Mr O'Callaghan led calls for such an inquiry when in opposition, he has changed his approach since becoming minister this year and tasked the Oireachtas Justice Committee to examine whether an inquiry was warranted. A scoping exercise into the case carried out by retired judge Gerard Haughton was published in July 2023 and found that an inquiry was unwarranted. Speaking ahead of today's apology, Ms O'Farrell said the State had failed her son and an apology is 'long overdue'. The case has highlighted a number of shortcomings in the bail system. Between 2022 and last year there was a 14pc rise in crimes involving suspects who were out on bail. During that period, suspects for 114,665 crimes were on bail when the crimes were committed. Gridziuska, a Lithuanian national, left the scene of the fatal crash but the following day handed himself in to gardaí. He had over 40 convictions at the time, including some in Northern Ireland. On January 11, 2011, seven months before Mr O'Farrell was killed, Gridziuska appeared before Judge John O'Hagan in Monaghan District Court on five charges of theft and one of possession of stolen property – machinery from a factory – relating to 2009 and 2010. The judge adjourned the sentencing until the following year on the condition if he was arrested for any offence under theft or fraud legislation, he would be brought back to the court and sent to jail. The 38-year-old continued to offend, but was never sent to jail. Just four months later, on May 9, 2011, he appeared before Ardee District Court on five charges of theft – all involving bottles of alcohol. He was sentenced to four months' imprisonment, suspended for two years on the condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour. A subsequent Gsoc report found that the judge in Ardee was not informed of the previous adjourned sentence in Monaghan. It said no effort was made by gardaí to re-enter the case before Judge O'Hagan, even though it was a breach of bail. On June 8, 2011, Gridziuska appeared before Carrickmacross District Court on a charge of possession of heroin. On July 6, he was a passenger in a car that was stopped and found to be in possession of charred tinfoil which gardaí suspected contained traces of heroin. It was sent for analysis and found not to contain heroin, according to Gsoc. Shane O'Farrell's sister, Gemma, had complained to Gsoc about a garda delay in testing the sample. Her complaint was not upheld. On July 14, 2011, three weeks before Shane's death, Gridziuska was arrested in Newry on charges of theft of trainers, perfume and alcohol. The next day he appeared before Newry Magistrates Court and was sentenced to five months' imprisonment, suspended for two years. The Gsoc report says that 'gardaí were unaware' of Gridziuska's convictions in the North until July 2012. The O'Farrell family dispute this. On the night of Mr O'Farrell's death, a car owned by Gridziuska and driven by another man was stopped by members of the garda drugs squad. No drugs were found, according to Gsoc. The car's NCT was not up to date. The driver was not insured. After being stopped by gardaí, the driver swapped with Gridziuška, who drove on. The collision that killed Mr O'Farrell happened an hour later. Gsoc accepted that if the car had been seized at that point, the fatal collision would have been prevented. But it noted that the gardaí in question were members of the regional drugs unit who were 'entitled to a reasonable exercise of their discretion' in relation to road traffic offences. Therefore, it stated, no further investigation was required on this decision. Gridziuska ultimately pleaded guilty to failing to stop at the scene and failure to report the incident. He was acquitted of the more serious charge of dangerous driving causing death. He never served any time in relation to the death.
