![\"Darragh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/00249ed6-614.jpg\"\/)
\nCillian Kirwan (left) and Darragh Dullea were killed in the crash in February 2024<\/p>\n
A 22-year-old man who pleaded guilty to drink driving and dangerous driving causing the deaths of two of his college friends is “truly sorry”, a court has heard.<\/p>\n
Patrick Carroll, with an address at Drinagh Fivealley, Birr, Co Offaly, crashed a car into a wall on the N69 in Co Limerick two years ago, killing 21-year-old Darragh Dullea from Clonakilty, Co Cork, and 19-year-old Cillian Kirwan from Piltown, Co Kilkenny.<\/p>\n
They were all travelling in the same car along with a fourth man at the time of the fatal collision.<\/p>\n
Mr Carroll and the third passenger were treated in hospital for injuries sustained in the crash.<\/p>\n
The young men were friends and fellow students attending the Salesian Agricultural College, Pallaskenry, Co Limerick, studying for a higher certificate in agricultural mechanisation.<\/p>\n
During a sentencing hearing at Limerick Circuit Court , Inspector Padraig Sutton of Henry Street Garda Station outlined the movements of the students in the hours before the collision on 20 February 2024.<\/p>\n
Inspector Sutton told the court that the students had attended a lecture at TUS in Limerick city, and on their way back to Pallaskenry they frequented two pubs, De Bucket and The Dromore Inn, in Kildimo, between 4pm and 7pm.<\/p>\n
CCTV footage of Mr Carroll driving a 2010-registered Volkswagen Jetta arriving at both pubs was shown to the court.<\/p>\n
The court heard that Cillian Kirwan joined his friends at The Dromore Inn.<\/p>\n
Shortly after leaving the pub, the car being driven by Mr Carroll crossed to the other side of the road and crashed into a wall and a pier of a farmhouse at Ballyengland near Askeaton at 7.20pm.<\/p>\n
\nCillian Kirwan (left) and Darragh Dullea were killed in the crash in February 2024<\/p>\n
Inspector Sutton told the court that Darragh Dullea and Cillian Kirwan were killed instantly.<\/p>\n
Prosecuting barrister Lily Buckley, instructed by Brendan Gill, state solicitor for Co Limerick, told the court that the defendant was driving with a blood alcohol level almost three times the legal limit.<\/p>\n
Ms Buckley said the driver and passengers were all wearing seatbelts and while there were airbags in the vehicle, they were not sufficient to save the occupants.<\/p>\n
The court heard that two women who came upon the collision in its aftermath, described seeing Mr Carroll crying and calling on his friends to “wake up”.<\/p>\n
The court was told that the accused made admissions of guilt at the scene and again while being questioned by garda\u00ed.<\/p>\n
Mr Carroll told garda\u00ed: “I made a terrible mistake that day and will live with the shame of this for the rest of my life.”<\/p>\n
Sinead Molloy, mother of Cillian Kirwan, said her heart was broken since the death of her son.<\/p>\n
In a victim impact statement, she said Cillian was killed in such a senseless manner, and she hoped he did not suffer.<\/p>\n
“We cannot find the strength to forgive,” she told the court.<\/p>\n
The family of Darragh Dullea described him as their pride and joy.<\/p>\n
In a victim impact statement read to the court, they said they are greeted by tremendous grief every day.<\/p>\n
Brian McInerney, SC, on behalf of Mr Carroll said the 22-year-old is deeply remorseful for his actions that resulted in the deaths of his two friends.<\/p>\n
“He accepts responsibility for his actions and the hurt that has been and will continue to be felt by the families of the deceased,” Mr McInerney said.<\/p>\n
The defence barrister told the court that Mr Carroll has written letters to the families if they choose to read them at some point in the future.<\/p>\n
Mr McInerney said Mr Carroll was fully cooperative with the garda investigation and pleaded guilty to the offences at the earliest possible opportunity.<\/p>\n
Three character references on behalf of Mr Carroll were also read to the court.<\/p>\n
Judge Simon McAleese extended his sympathies to the families of the deceased who were in court for today’s hearing.<\/p>\n
“What an appalling and senseless tragedy this was and is,” he said.<\/p>\n
Judge McAleese remanded the accused in custody by consent and adjourned the case until Friday when he is expected to pass sentence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 22-year-old man who pleaded guilty to drink driving and dangerous driving causing the deaths of two of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-527988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=527988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/527989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=527988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=527988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=527988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}