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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Michelle Cullen

Family of man, 23, killed in hit-and-run by driver out on bail urge Taoiseach to launch public inquiry

The family of a 23-year-old man from Monaghan who was killed in a hit and run by a driver who should have been in jail at the time have called for a public inquiry into his death.

Shane O'Farrell, a law graduate, died while cycling near his home in Carrickmacross on August 2, 2011.

The driver of the car, Zigimantas Gridziuska, who had previous convictions including theft, drugs and road traffic offences, left the scene but later turned himself into gardai.

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Lithuanian national, Mr Gridziuska, should have been in jail at the time of the incident due to a ruling from Monaghan Circuit Court in January 2011.

However, he remained on bail despite being arrested on both sides of the border.

Concurrent prison sentences imposed on Gridziuska in 2010 were never served due to administrative error. While another prison sentence given in February 2011 was also not imposed.

Shane's family met with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee on Wednesday afternoon at Government Buildings.

Speaking on RTE's Drivetime, Shane's mother, Lucia said: "This case remains live and will continue to remain live until it's addressed fully.

We've recently discovered more failings, and that's very unfair, 11 years on, that we're still learning things."

The family say reviews by GSOC, the Independent Review Mechanism and the Courts Service into the incident did not go far enough.

In 2018, the Dáil passed a Fianna Fáil motion calling for the Government to establish a Commission of investigation into the death of Shane.

Lucia added: "We would ask them to honour their commitment and our family but also to the people of Ireland as the Government have a duty to address very serious public policy issues, and there are very serious issues in this case."

"I hope Micheal Martin would honour and deliver on his promise to us and to Shane, who's silent in all this," she added.

"Shane lay on a cold road that night. He is an Irish citizen who was killed by somebody who shouldn't have been on the road that night. And if they think they are things that should not be looked into, that's a very damning indictment," said Shane's sister Gemma.

She continued: "We need truth. We have snippets of information. Have we the full picture yet? I'm not sure. Will Shane get justice? Will he get truth? I think so because he deserves it."

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