A 53-year-old truck driver has been sentenced to ten months in prison and disqualified from driving for three years after he knocked down and seriously injured a 70-year-old cyclist in Co Limerick over two years ago.
Seamus Hanrahan, a well-known pig farmer from Granagh, Co Limerick, pleaded guilty to careless driving causing serious injury to Gerry Murray who he struck on a slip road to the N20 on 7 February 2023.
Hanrahan was driving a truck and pulling a slurry tank when he struck Mr Murray, and while he slowed down, he did not stop at the stop sign.
He did stop when the incident happened and offered assistance to Mr Murray on the side of the road and assisted gardaí at the scene.
Mr Murray - father of Ireland international and Munster rugby player Conor Murray, from Patrickswell in Limerick - suffered a traumatic brain injury in the incident and spent six weeks in hospital and still suffers from loss of hearing and tinnitus.
The court heard he could have been killed had he not been wearing his helmet.
His family life also suffered and he could not attend his son's wedding as a result of his injuries.
Gerry Murray said the outcome of the case should be a deterrent to others
Previous convictions
Sentencing Hanrahan, Judge Colin Daly said he could not ignore the fact that Hanrahan had a number of previous convictions, including a recent conviction for careless driving in 2021 for which he was fined, and a conviction for drink driving in 2011, as well as a previous conviction for a hit-and-run incident.
Judge Daly said he was satisfied the threshold for a custodial sentence had been reached and that lessons had not been learned from the previous incidents.
He imposed a ten-month sentence on Hanrahan and disqualified him from driving for three years.
Afterwards Mr Murray said he was pleased with the outcome of the case.
He said the judge delved deeply into the case and it was clear lessons were not learned from previous incidents, and this will be a deterrent for others as cyclists are so vulnerable.
Mr Murray added that only for his helmet, he would not be here today.
He said this incident had taken over two years of his life and he was simply not able to get back on his bike, but he is now going to make an effort again.
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