THE GOVERNMENT HAS today offered a public apology in the Dáil to the family of hit-and-run victim Shane O’Farrell and announced a UCD law scholarship in his memory, as well as a review of bail laws.

On 2 August 2011, 23-year-old Shane was cycling home when he was struck by a car driven by Zigimantas Gradzuiska near Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan.

Shane was preparing for a charity triathlon when he was killed in a hit-and-run in 2011. O'Farrell family O'Farrell family

Gradzuiska had 34 previous convictions for offences including aggravated burglary, road traffic offences and the handling of stolen property at the time Shane was killed.

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan told the family today that the criminal justice system did not protect Shane like it should have.

In the years since Shane’s death, his family has been asking how Gradzuiska, a repeat offender who was on bail from multiple courts, was at liberty on the day Shane was killed.

Shane’s family were in the Dáil today for the apology from the Justice Minister.

Speaking to media outside Leinster House afterwards, the family said they were grateful for the apology but that a number of questions still remain. 

They called on GSOC and the gardaí to release a number of reports related to his death.

Speaking in the Dáil, O’Callaghan said: 

“It is incumbent on me as Minister for Justice to apologise to Shane O’Farrell and the O’Farrell family for the fact that the criminal justice system did not protect him as it should have. I do so apologise.”

“We should also remember Shane not just because of how he died but also because of how he lived and what his life may have been.

“Shane was a law graduate of UCD and TCD.

“He respected and obeyed the law. He was destined for a career in the law. Nothing I can do can realign that trajectory of a life stolen in its prime.

“We can, however, commemorate that life. I am honoured to announce that the Department of Justice will fund, every year, a scholarship in the name of Shane O’Farrell that will be awarded to a student who distinguishes him or herself in the Masters of Law degree at University College Dublin.

Shane O'Farrell was a 23-year-old law graduate.

“The Shane O’Farrell award will confer on its recipients, in perpetuity, the honour of the excellence by which Shane lived his short but exemplary life,” the Minister said. 

Alongside today’s apology, the Minister also announced a review into bail laws. 

A number of politicians today praised Shane’s mother, Lucia, for her tireless fight for justice for her son. 

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the apology was a vindication of the “courageous and relentless pursuit of truth and justice” by the O’Farrell family.

However, she said no answers had been provided to “credible allegations” that Gradzuiska “had been operating as a garda informer”.

Sinn Féin TD for Cavan-Monaghan Matt Carthy was visibly emotional as he praised Shane’s family, whom he said he has gotten to know over the years. 

“Lucia O’Farrell is a force of nature.

“I’m sorry, Lucia, that it has taken so long for you to get to this point, but I want you to know that you’ve touched the lives of so many people,” Carthy said as the O’Farrell family watched on from the distinguished visitors’ gallery.

“Over the past 14 years, you’ve been an inspiration, in particular, to others who seek truth and justice for their loved ones.

“And I hope that you know that today would not have happened were it not for your efforts, all of those meetings, those letters, those emails, those countless hours of investigation and reading. It shouldn’t have been necessary, but it has all been vindicated today,” Carthy added.

The apology follows a long-running campaign from the O’Farrell family, who today accepted what they said was a long-overdue apology for a “catalogue of systemic failures” that led to Shane’s death.

‘Abusive and disrespectful’

In a statement issued after O’Callaghan’s apology, the family said:

“The treatment of our family by various state bodies, once we started asking questions and advocating for Shane, was abusive and disrespectful. From the beginning, the State should have stood with us and provided us with answers but instead it stood against us.”

The family thanked the Justice Minister for the apology alongside Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness, Sinn Féin, particularly Matt Carty and Mary Lou McDonald, former People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith, Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty and former Independent senator David Norris, who they said “advocated unwaveringly for Shane”.

In March, O’Callaghan met with the family of the young law graduate, and “listened carefully to what they had to say”.

There have been two Dáil motions, one of which was tabled by O’Callaghan in 2018 when he was in opposition, as well as a Seanad motion calling for a public inquiry, but the calls have been resisted by Government to date. 

O’Callaghan said today that a public inquiry was not needed and this was accepted by the family in their comments afterwards.

In 2018, the Garda Síochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) found there was no breach of procedures in relation to the investigation surrounding the death of O’Farrell.

An independent scoping exercise took place later, with the findings shared with the Dáil in 2023.

The report by Judge Gerard Houghton was commissioned by O’Callaghan’s predecessor Helen McEntee, who previously told the Dáil that the report was thorough and comprehensive and a “fair and true” representation of the situation.

In 2023, the Department of Justice published a 416-page report into the case which concluded there were no circumstances surrounding the death of O’Farrell that warranted further investigation.

After receiving today’s State apology, Shane O’Farrell’s family say they still need answers.

Shane’s mother Lucia has appealed to GSOC & the gardaí to give the family reports related to their son’s death.

“The answers are there…So they should furnish them to us,” she said. pic.twitter.com/p8LVDxNQ2S

— Jane Matthews (@janeematthews) May 27, 2025

Speaking to media after the apology this evening, Shane’s sister Gemma said: 

“Today, it’s really important to remember Shane.

“He was only beginning the rest of his life when his life was cut short so tragically.

“Shane was the only boy, adored by his parents and doted on by his four sisters…He loved music, and sport, especially rugby… He was vibrant, kind and fun.”

She concluded: “Life without Shane has and will remain extremely difficult.

“Time has not lessened our sense of grief and loss…Shane remains so loved by his family and friends.”

With reporting from Diarmuid Pepper