A woman who killed a cyclist after her car crossed on to the other side of the road has been given a suspended sentence.
Marcella Duffy (62) of Clairville Lodge, Streamstown Lane, Malahide, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of John Walsh on Malahide Road, Dublin on February 18th, 2024.
Mr Walsh was out for a Sunday morning cycle on the Malahide Road in Kinsealy when Duffy’s car crossed the road and hit him. He later died in hospital.
Mr Walsh, who was described by his wife Olivia in a victim-impact statement as an extraordinary, loving, funny, kind man with a mischievous grin and a glint in his eye, was a father to three young boys and an avid cyclist.
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“There are now three very young boys facing, essentially, their entire lives without their adoring father. John wanted them so much. He wanted to be a present, active, loving dad in every moment of their lives. He was devoted to them,” Ms Walsh said in her statement, which she read to the court.
“It feels grossly inadequate to try, in a few pages, to describe who John was: the husband he was to me, the father he was to our little boys ... One small example ... the night that should have been John’s first evening as a Scout leader, his three little boys instead stood around his coffin and said goodbye to their daddy for the very last time.”
Judge Martin Nolan said he could not find any aggravating factors in the case and gave a fully suspended sentence. He said the court must look for intentional factors and determine the level of culpability.
The judge noted Duffy was driving at 62km/h which “was somewhat over the limit”. However, the judge noted the speed limit had just changed from a 60km/h to 50km/h zone.
He noted Duffy’s early plea, co-operation, lack of previous convictions and said there was an “unlikelihood of Marcella Duffy reoffending”.
He imposed a 2½-year sentence, suspended it in its entirety and disqualified her from driving for six years.
Det Garda Stephen Flynn gave evidence that Duffy was driving a Skoda travelling along the Malahide Road and Mr Walsh was travelling in a southerly direction. Duffy was travelling towards Malahide and her vehicle travelled on to the wrong side of road, causing a head-on collision.
The impact propelled Mr Walsh over her vehicle and dashcam footage captured the incident, the court was told.
Several people assisted at the scene, including an off-duty healthcare worker. Mr Walsh had fallen on his side in the recovery position, but had very serious head injuries.
Duffy remained at the scene until gardaí arrived. She told gardaí she could not remember what happened.
A blood sample was taken from her and alcohol was not a factor. She was not using a mobile phone at the time. Duffy spent the previous night with her son in hospital and left there at 9am.
Eoin Lawlor SC, defending, said his client had no recollection of the events. And it could be inferred that she suffered from loss of attention due to tiredness, having just left hospital with her son. “A night in hospital is a tiring event,” said Mr Lawlor.
Counsel said there had “not been a day where she has not keenly felt the consequences” of the incident and her “plea was indicative of her remorse”.
His client has offered to meet any member of the Walsh family in due course, said Mr Lawlor.
Duffy is a mother of three and her wife was present in court for the sentencing hearing.
Mr Lawlor said Duffy was originally from Hackettstown, Co Carlow.
She went back to college later in life to study and did a master’s degree on working with people with Aids before doing a PhD in healthcare.
She later worked in Dublin City University as well as prisons. Her “morality and her drive for those less fortunate than her” and “social justice for the vulnerable” made it “difficult for her to deal with the devastating injustice she has caused”, said counsel.
Norman Walsh read a victim impact statement to the court on behalf of himself and his wife, Anne.
He said when his son died little did he know that he and his wife’s lives “would be on hold for a year-and-a-half” before the court hearing. He said he hoped “justice would be done for John”, who was deprived of the life he had worked for and his career as a solicitor.
