FORMER KERRY ALL-IRELAND winner, Sean O’Leary, whose inter-county career was wiped out by a dangerous driver, blasted youths sharing dangerous driving exploits on social media.

O’Leary was seriously injured when Michael Harty (22) from Lisheen Park, Patrickswell, Co Limerick, ploughed into him and his girlfriend as they drove home from a football match five years ago.

Harty struck their car as he overtook traffic on a bend on the wrong side of the road, near Abbeyfeale, Co Kerry, on 10 July 2021.

Harty, who had a previous conviction for speeding, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm, but was found guilty by a jury and jailed for four years with the final year suspended in 2024.

O’Leary’s girlfriend, Emma O’Connor, who was driving herself and O’Leary, suffered a cruciate leg injury and shock. The All-Ireland minor football winner was left in a wheelchair for four months, requiring multiple surgeries, and he still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

O’Leary warned Transition Year secondary school students at a road safety roadshow, sponsored by motor insurance firm Axa, held at the University of Limerick today: “Nobody is immune from this happening to them and the consequences can be devastating for dangerous actions.”

So far this year 140 people have been killed in road collisions, compared with 128 road deaths last year, and Friday’s roadshow heard that young male drivers were more likely to be involved.

Speaking afterwards, O’Leary (27) said: “A lot of it is people between the ages of 16 and 25, so its really important to get the message across that you are not just playing with your own life, you are playing with the lives of other people.”

Social media giant TikTok said Thursday that it had identified 1,600 videos in Ireland showing highly risky driving, vehicle theft, or related behaviours, since five teenagers died on 16 August, when they drove a car the wrong way down the M9 motorway, ploughing head-on into a car carrying an innocent family of four, and seriously injuring them.

O’Leary said the recent social media trend, whereby youths drive dangerously on roads and share their exploits online, “angers” him.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous, and its terrifying, it’s genuinely terrifying. It really angers me, and it has devastating effects,” said O’Leary.

“To think people are doing this, is absolutely shocking, and I think penalties need to be increased and people need to face consequences for their actions,” he said.

“I know what it is like for me and my family and for [my girlfriend] Emma and her family and all our friends – they have lived the trauma with me – they saw when I was in a wheelchair,” he said.

O’Leary warned people engaging in risky driving that they are “playing with fire” and risking not only their own lives, but the lives of others.

The talented sportsman sustained an open fracture to his right femur in the collision, “so my right femur came out through my leg”, a fractured left femur, “a fracture to my right tibia fibula”, a fractured sternum, and long-term concussion.

“I had 120cms of titanium rods inserted into both my legs, I had eight blood transfusions in intensive care,” he continued.

“And once I actually got out of the wheelchair, one of my legs had shortened an inch, so I had to get an inch of bone removed from my other femur to level me up again,” he said.

“That kick-started a horrific journey of rehabilitation both physically and psychologically, which was extremely tough, but thankfully I have made a full recovery through sheer determination.”

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O’Leary said that, although losing his inter-county career was “tough to take”, he realises he is “extremely lucky” to be alive.

He offered: “I feel like I have a duty and a mission to educate others, because I am very fortunate to have lived through a very severe car crash and come out the other side of it.”

“There are not that many people who can actually tell these stories because they don’t make it to hospital.”

While speaking publicly about his experience has “not been easy”, he would “rather speak about it, and share it, to help other people, rather than let it eat me up inside”.

Assistant Garda Commissioner, Roads Policing, Denis Ferris, who also attended the road safety event, said “education” was “critical” for ensuring young people are “aware” of the dangers of driving, before they even apply for their driving licence.

Ferris said that providing continued “training, support and welfare” for gardaí, in respect of their emergency response to road collisions, and how they personally deal with the after-effects, was also a key priority for him.

“It is sometimes forgotten, but our members have to live with the impact and effects of what they see,” he said.