{"id":494875,"date":"2026-05-20T22:58:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T22:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/494875\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T22:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T22:58:11","slug":"unthinkable-loss-drunk-limerick-driver-in-double-fatality-applies-to-get-his-licence-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/494875\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Unthinkable loss\u2019: Drunk Limerick driver in double fatality applies to get his licence back"},"content":{"rendered":"

A LIMERICK<\/a> man who was put off the road for 25 years after the \u201cunthinkable and horrible loss\u201d of two 15-year-old half-sisters in a road traffic collision has applied for the restoration of his driving licence.<\/p>\n

Robyn O’Riordan and Leanne Miller died following the collision near Galbally in the early hours of July 15, 2006 – almost 20 years ago.<\/p>\n

Patrick Russell, then aged 17, lost control of a Toyota Starlet he was driving at speed through a series of bends while under the influence of alcohol. He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Ms O\u2019Riordan – who was his girlfriend – and Ms Miller. A plea was also entered to drink driving.<\/p>\n

Judge Carroll Moran jailed Mr Russell for three years at Limerick Circuit Court in 2007 and disqualified him from driving for 25 years.<\/p>\n

Mr Russell, aged 37, of Oliver Plunkett Terrace, Ballylanders, applied for the restoration of his driving licence after 18 years in Limerick Circuit Criminal Court. The court heard applications of this nature can be made after two thirds of the disqualification is served.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT:<\/strong>\u00a0\u2018Shandies don\u2019t count\u2019: Limerick man jailed for dangerous driving causing death of lorry driver<\/a><\/p>\n

Lily Buckley BL, instructed by State solicitor Brendan Gill, said it is a very sensitive case involving the deaths of two children, who were very close and always together.<\/p>\n

Kenneth Kerins BL, who represented Mr Russell, said the personal message from his client is that the loss of two young lives is at the forefront of his mind.<\/p>\n

Ms Buckley recounted the details of the case with the assistance of Sergeant Caimin Treacy for Judge Fiona O\u2019Sullivan. Ms Buckley said Mr Russell parked his car in Galbally before taking a bus to a teenage disco in Dundrum on the night in question.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was put out for fighting (at the disco). He was arrested for public order offences. It was noted in the custody record at the garda station that he consumed alcohol. He was released into the care of his mother and obviously it was hoped that he would remain under her supervision.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis mother drove him to Dundrum where the teenage disco was on. He met friends, got a bus to Galbally and picked up his car,\u201d said Ms Buckley.<\/p>\n

The barrister said Mr Russell (pictured below in 2007 outside court) drove the car which contained Ms O\u2019Riordan, Ms Miller and a male.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The court heard Mr Russell lost control of the car going around a bend. The vehicle flipped and skidded into a grass verge on the opposite side of the road. Ms Miller died at the scene. Mr Russell’s girlfriend, Ms O’Riordan, died the following day in hospital when her life-support machine was switched off.<\/p>\n

Mr Russell was taken to hospital and after he was discharged, he went to a garda station where he admitted that he had drunk four cans of cider and was driving at speed.<\/p>\n

Mr Kerins called Mr Russell to give evidence in Limerick Circuit Court this month regarding his application for the removal of his driving disqualification.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fighting back tears on the stand, Mr Russell said: \u201cIt is with a heavy heart that I write this letter. I was seventeen. I was driving the car when an accident occurred that caused the fatalities of two girls, Robyn and Leanne. I am deeply sorry for my actions and I apologise again to both of the families. This is something that has never left my mind or never will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Russell said he spent 26 months in Limerick Prison, adding \u201cI don’t know if I would still be here if it wasn’t for the Prison Service\u201d due to their psychological assistance.<\/p>\n

He said he lives with his mother, aged in her 70s, and wants to get his licence back so he can drive her in her retirement like she has done for him for the last 20 years, and for employment reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The court heard that gardai contacted the families of both deceased girls and they said the restoration of Mr Russell\u2019s driving licence was a matter for the courts.<\/p>\n

Mr Kerins said it is a very difficult case and spoke of the devastating effect of the collision on the families.<\/p>\n

Sgt Treacy confirmed to Mr Kerins that there’s no evidence suggesting Mr Russell drove during the period of the driving ban.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Russell said he is aware that if the disqualification order is removed it will \u201ctake some time\u201d as he has to do a theory test, driving lessons and pass his test.<\/p>\n

The barrister asked Judge O\u2019Sullivan to take into account his client\u2019s young age at the time, his remorse, admissions to gardai, guilty plea, going to prison and upon release rehabilitating himself and being in gainful employment since.<\/p>\n

Judge O\u2019Sullivan extended her sympathies to the families of Ms Miller and Ms O’Riordan. \u201cI’m very sorry for their loss,\u201d said the judge.<\/p>\n

She continued: \u201cI have considered the tragic and shocking nature of the incident. It could not have been more serious. It resulted in the deaths of two teenage girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judge O\u2019Sullivan said she accepts Mr Russell\u2019s remorse but \u201cunfortunately there is nothing that he or anyone else can do to reverse what happened on that night\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr Russell will have to take responsibility for the consequences of that incident for the rest of his life. I bear in mind the unthinkable and horrible loss suffered by the families of Leanne and Robyn,\u201d said Judge O\u2019Sullivan.<\/p>\n

The judge said having considered all the factors, she would remove Mr Russell\u2019s disqualification order.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A LIMERICK man who was put off the road for 25 years after the \u201cunthinkable and horrible loss\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[956,17887,9,10,889,18,13,14,4489,6,19,17,11,12,83705,15,16,5,7,8],"class_list":["post-494875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-ballylanders","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-county-limerick","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-galbally","tag-headlines","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-limerick-circuit-court","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116609385325546474","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}