LAST UPDATE | 24 May

JUSTICE MINISTER JIM O’Callaghan is to make a public apology to the family of Shane O’Farrell, a young cyclist who was killed after being struck by a car in 2011, on Tuesday. 

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.

Gradzuiska had previous convictions for offences including aggravated burglary, road traffic offences and the handling of stolen property.

In the years since O’Farrell’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 O’Farrell was killed.

In a statement, the Department of Justice confirmed that the Minister “will address the Dáil on Tuesday 27th May regarding an apology to Shane O’Farrell and his family”.

“Time has been provided so that members from across the House can contribute.”

The apology comes following a long-running campaign from the O’Farrell family. 

In March, O’Callaghan met with the family of the young law graduate, and “listened carefully to what they had to say”. After the meeting, he “reflected on what was discussed”, the statement said. 

In a statement from Shane’s mother Lucia provided to RTÉ’s Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, Lucia said, “We note Minister O’Callaghan will make an apology to Shane on Tuesday. Shane’s case raises serious issues about how the criminal justice system works, and how it ought to work. We await the apology on Tuesday.”

There have been two Dáil motions, one of which was tabled by Fianna Fáil’s Jim O’Callaghan, and a Seanad motion calling for a public inquiry, but the calls have been resisted by government to date. 

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 Dail 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.

In a statement given by O’Callaghan in 2023 at the Dáil’s debate on Judge Houghton’s report, he said that the scoping exercise had gone “beyond the definition of what it was”, as there were findings of fact within the report.

“I think it is very dangerous for there to be findings of fact in a report when those findings of fact are not based on evidence that has been given before the person who is conducting the inquiry,” he said.

The O’Farrell family said that they will release a statement following the apology.