A 22-year-old man has been given a 17-month suspended sentence at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court in Mayo for careless driving causing the death of Ciarán Keating, brother of singer Ronan Keating.
Dean Harte from Tyrellspass in Westmeath collided with Mr Keating's car while driving near Swinford in July 2023.
In a victim impact statement read out in court, the Keating family said their lives were shattered and they would never forgive and never forget what happened.
The family and friends of Ciarán Keating were in court for the sentencing hearing including his wife Annemarie and three children, Conall, Aisling and Ruairí.
Family of Ciarán Keating criticise sentencing for fatal crash
On the day of the crash, Annemarie was travelling with her husband to see their son Ruairí play for Cork City FC in Sligo.
The court heard how Dean Harte failed to take a bend on a stretch of the N5 between Swinford and Bohola.
His Audi A3 crashed headlong into Ciarán Keating's Ford Focus and the 57-year-old man died at the scene.
The court was told nobody was speeding during the incident.
The court heard there were a number of factors which may have contributed to the fatal crash including damp weather conditions and a worn tyres but the court concluded that a lapse in attention was seen as the key factor in causing the car to swerve across to the other side of the road into the oncoming car driven by Ciarán Keating.
The court also heard of a snapchat message delivered shortly before the crash but Dean Harte and the passenger in his car said it was sent a significant amount of time before that and the judge said he could not take it into consideration.
Dean Harte was later found to have a trace of cannabis in his system when he taken to hospital with non-serious injuries.
In a victim impact statement delivered by Conall Keating on behalf of the family, he fought back tears as he spoke of his mother's sleepless nights, depression, physical scars and the scars of survival.
In her words Ciarán was "the love of my life, 41 years together, the beat of my heart".
She said her once happy home was now a place of desolation.
This was a life sentence, she said, and there was no forgiving and no forgetting.
Conall also read a statement on behalf of his sister Aisling who said she struggled to get out of bed in the morning and would never be walked down the aisle by her father.
She said Dean Harte represented a particular demographic when it came to causing road deaths.
She said the Keatings have been handed a life sentence while Dean Harte gets a slap on the wrist.
Conall Keating sobbed into his hands and then looked and made a brief comment to Dean Harte who sat motionless and stared straight ahead.
His parents were also in court today.
Judge Eoin Garavan said there were mitigating factors taken into account in the sentencing including an early guilty plea and the acceptance of responsibility for the devastation caused to the Keating family.
He had no previous convictions and no substance abuse issues.
The judge also said he was actively involved in the GAA in Tyrellspass and was in gainful employment.
The judge handed down a 17-month suspended sentence for the lesser offence of careless driving causing death and disqualified him from driving for two years.
