The family of Shane O'Farrell says they have been let down by the state and continue to be let down almost 14 years on.
The Mother of the Carrickmacross man who was killed in a hit and run on the 2nd of August in 2011 says the family have been treated appallingly by the state.
Over the last 14 years, Ms O'Farrell believes her family have been continuously let down by all previous justice ministers and she now hopes Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan will honour his previous calls. Minister O'Callaghan has long called for accountability surrounding justice for Shane and his family.
Ms O'Farrell confirmed to Northern Sound that she has written to Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan asking him to meet her family to discuss their calls for a public inquiry. 23-year-old law graduate Shane O'Farrell, was killed while cycling near his home in Carrickmacross in 2011.
The driver of the car, Zigimantas Gridziuska, had 42 previous convictions, including for theft, drugs and road traffic offences. He appeared at courts across the North East including Carrickmacross, Dundalk, Cavan, Monaghan, Ardee and others on both sides of the border. Mr Gridziuska left the scene but later handed himself into Gardaí the next day to Carrickmacross Garda Station.
A ruling from Monaghan Circuit Court in January 2011 meant the Lithuanian national should have been in jail at the time of Mr O'Farrell's death. Instead, he remained on bail despite being arrested multiple times. The O’Farrell’s have been looking for answers related to Shane's death, principally about the man who killed him, who at the time was a regular defendant to courts across the region and beyond. Ms O'Farrell said he walked in and out of court in Monaghan, Cavan, Dundalk and Carrickmacross - bail was given, bail was breached and he reoffended and no one objected.
The family believe the scoping exercise in to the death of Shane O'Farrell had a victim blaming narrative throughout the report. Lucia O'Farrell says so many questions remain following that report and only an independent public inquiry will answer those questions. She said Shane had no voice, his name was mentioned over 500 times in the report but the person responsible for his death had his name redacted throughout the report, Mr Gridziuska is only referred to in the report as "ZG".
Lucia says the family have been treated appallingly by the state. Ms O'Farrell says she looks forward to meeting Mr O'Callaghan but added "he knows we'll accept nothing less than a public inquiry" adding that her family deserve this inquiry and it is also very much in the public’s interest to warrant a full and independent investigation.
She said her beloved Shane was robbed of a future from a man that should have been behind bars and the unanswered questions that are outstanding questions need be the full scrutiny of a public inquiry. Ronan Gargan has this report.
