The husband of a woman killed in a hit-and-run involving her uncle has described the defendant's behaviour as "reckless, violent and dangerous".
Danny O'Donoghue pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of his 21-year-old niece, who had given birth to a baby boy three weeks earlier, in Rathkeale last Christmas.
He said he will carry the shame and guilt with him always.
At a sentencing hearing, O'Donoghue, aged 43, of Lower Main Street, Rathkeale, Co Limerick, admits the charges against him following the incident at Bank Place, Rathkeale, on 21 December 2024, describing them as "a terrible sin".
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Denis O’Rourke, husband of Marguerita O’Rourke, said the actions of the accused had destroyed his life and the life of their baby, Edward.
He said: "This was not an accident"; the defendant’s behaviour was "reckless, violent and dangerous".
Mr O’Rourke said whatever feud had existed between the families did not justify what happened his wife.
He said instead of planning their first Christmas with their new baby, he was planning her funeral.
Ms O’Rourke was opening a steel gate for her mother, who had pulled up in a van outside, when her uncle drove his van into the gates, causing a head injury which led to her death hours later at University Hospital Limerick.
At a sentencing hearing, Limerick Circuit Court was told that O’Donoghue bore no ill will towards his niece and was unaware that anybody had been injured in the incident.
CCTV footage played to the court showed the defendant driving a white van down the Main Street of Rathkeale before turning onto Bank Place.
The van was seen ramming into the 2.62m high gates before O’Donoghue shouted at his sister standing across the road: "Get out of town, Doite".
O’Donoghue then drove off.
In garda evidence, the court was told Margaret Sheridan thought her brother had just caused damage to the property, until she saw her daughter’s slipper stuck under the gate and walked around the gate to see the 21-year-old lying injured on the ground.
In an apology letter to the deceased’s mother, which was read out in court, O’Donoghue told his sister, "I am the person who did this terrible sin. I have to live with the fact my actions caused her death".
The 43-year-old said he prayed that his niece is in heaven "because she was an angel here". He appealed to his sister and family to find some way to forgive him.
John Sheridan, father of Ms O’Rourke, said her loss had left a profoundly devastating effect on his family, and they were heartbroken at her "untimely and unnecessary death".
He described his daughter as kind, loving and wonderful, and a natural mother to her baby, despite her young age.
After hearing the victim impact statements, Judge Colin Daly said there was much to consider in the case.
He further remanded O’Donoghue in custody and adjourned sentencing until 21 January next year.
