The Dublin architect Philip Sheedy should not have to serve more than a two-year sentence on charges relating to a traffic accident in which a mother of two was killed, his lawyer argued yesterday. Sheedy still felt guilt and remorse for the accident, the Court of Criminal Appeal was told.
The three-judge court reserved judgment on Sheedy's appeal against the severity of a four-year sentence imposed on him by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in October 1997. He has served 20 months of that term.
Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions said he would, in time-honoured fashion, express no view on the appropriateness of the sentence. He added that the intention of the sentencing judge was for a two-year term in custody.
The release of Sheedy earlier this year led to a public outcry which culminated in the resignations of Mr Justice Hugh O'Flaherty of the Supreme Court and Mr Justice Cyril Kelly of the High Court. The four-year sentence was imposed on Sheedy after an accident at Glenview roundabout, Tallaght, Co Dublin, in March 1996 when his car collided with a car driven by Ms Anne Ryan, of Tymon Crescent, Old Bawn, Tallaght. Ms Ryan died and her husband John, their two sons and another child passenger were injured.
Last week, the High Court was told that under an agreed settlement Mr Ryan and his sons were to be paid £260,000 for the loss of Ms Ryan as wife and mother. Mr Ryan is separately to be paid "a very significant sum" for his injuries. Personal injuries actions on behalf of the children have still to come before the courts.
During yesterday's appeal, Mr Patrick MacEntee SC told the judges: "I am instructed to say on behalf of Mr Sheedy that every day he feels guilt and remorse still for what he did, and to apologise unreservedly to the Ryan family.
"While Mr Sheedy fully understands that nothing he can do can undo the damage, he owes it to the Ryans to say it."
Earlier, Mr MacEntee said the sentencing judge, Judge Joseph Mathews, had intended Sheedy should not serve more than 24 months. Judge Mathews had provided for a review of the sentence.
A three-year sentence would effectively mean his client's release after 24 months, Mr MacEntee said. Sheedy should not have the benefit of a period for which he was on parole from prison, he added, but he should have what effectively was a 24-month sentence.
Mr MacEntee accepted there were aggravating factors in the case, but the mitigating circumstances included a "timely" plea of guilty, the fact that Sheedy had no previous convictions, his remorse and the assurance that, as a certainty, "there will be no repetition of this type of conduct on the part of Philip Sheedy".
He told Ms Justice Denham, Mr Justice Geoghegan and Ms Justice McGuinness that at this stage his client's appeal was simply once against the severity of sentence.
Mr MacEntee said Sheedy appeared to have been driving at a very high speed. He seemed to have lost control of the car, for whatever reason. The evidence established that he had the equivalent of 31/2 or four pints of beer taken at the time. People who saw Sheedy's car had remarked on its speed. Apparently, Sheedy braked and lost control. The car went up on the roundabout and came down on top of the Ryans' car.
Mr MacEntee said it was a serious case. The driving was characterised by speed and by the consumption of the equivalent of 3 1/2 or four pints of beer.
On the evidence, it was established the car driven by Sheedy was a fairly powerful one, although not spectacularly so. The accident happened on a Friday. He had bought the car second-hand two days earlier and had no experience of driving it. The car appeared to have some sort of computerised braking system which might have contributed to the accident.
A Garda sergeant had given evidence that the roundabout required radical redesigning and was an accident black spot.
Judge Mathews had pointed out that if a person was driving a car more powerful that he was used to, it behoved him to drive carefully. The unaccustomed type of car might have contributed to the occurrence, Mr MacEntee said.
Mr Peter Charleton SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the DPP would be expressing no view on the appropriateness of the sentence. The State had not exercised its power to appeal the sentence on grounds of leniency, nor was it arguing for an increase.
Judge Mathews had indicated that his intention was that the sentence should be two years and eight months, which would mean Sheedy should be released after two years.
Mr Charleton said it would be wrong for a signal to be sent to other circuit court judges that such a sentence was appropriate for this type of offence, but there were particular circumstances and an "extraordinary history" to the case.
At the conclusion of yesterday's hearing, Ms Justice Denham said the court had the victim-impact evidence given by Mr Ryan in which he had given evidence of the effect of what had happened on himself and his children.
The court would consider all of this carefully and reserve judgment, she said. The decision would be given as quickly as possible.