The family of an 11-year-old boy killed when returning from a family outing to a fun fair by the driver of a stolen car spoke yesterday of their grief and difficulty in trying to come to terms with their loss.
John and Margaret Curtin lost their son Shane when a stolen car ploughed into the back of their family saloon on the main Cork-Youghal road less than a mile from their home near Castle martyr last August 28th.
"Any event which should be a happy occasion becomes a sad occasion like Christmas, birthdays, confirmation. It causes absolute and never ending devastation and suffering that can never be undone," Mr Curtin said.
"It's a long and difficult process . . . normality is a thing we cannot even aspire to," said Mr Curtin, speaking after a 19-year-old car thief, Brian McGinn, from Drishane, Killeagh, Co Cork, was jailed for 10 years for Shane's manslaughter.
At Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, McGinn admitted unlawfully killing Shane when he crashed into the back of the Curtins' Toyota in a high-powered Honda Integra which he had stolen 40 minutes earlier in Youghal.
Mrs Curtin had taken Shane and his sister, Aisling (14), and brother, Ciaran (6), to Perks Funfair in Youghal for a day out. The children were due to return to school a few days later and Ms Curtin took them for an end-of-holiday treat.
McGinn crashed into the back of Mrs Curtin's car as she prepared to turn off the Cork-Youghal road at 8.10 p.m. Shane was rushed by ambulance to Cork University Hospital but died some hours later, Sgt Cormac Moroney told the court.
McGinn - who told gardai he reached speeds of 120 m.p.h. in the stolen car - pushed the Curtins' car almost 50 feet past the junction while his own car spun around and travelled 170 yards along the grass margin.
McGinn was uninjured and fled from the car and hid in nearby woods for four hours before hitching a lift from a passing motorist. But gardai mounted checkpoints and arrested him, whereupon he made a full admission.
He broke down when told by gardai that Shane had died. Charged in the district court, he admitted full responsibility and said Mrs Curtin was completely blameless for the crash.
McGinn had six previous convictions for taking cars as well as one for being carried in a stolen car when he was aged 11. He had a troubled family background due to difficulties in his parents' relationship, Sgt Moroney said.
McGinn's mother, Ms Ann O'Gorman, said his father left when her son was very young, to return only briefly when he was 10. He got involved with an older gang which plied him with drink and drugs and he turned to crime, Ms O'Gorman said. He spent five years in a detention centre from the age of 11, and later spent another three years in a detention centre. He had been released in May 1998 and got a job working with an air-conditioning firm in east Cork.
But his father died two days before the crash and he became very upset and gave up the job, she said. Her son was remorseful about the crash. "He was in tears most of the time we saw him," said Ms O'Gorman.
McGinn's counsel, Mr John McDermott SC, said he had owned up immediately and his remorse was genuine. Mr McDermott asked Judge Patrick Moran to include some drink and drugs rehabilitation element in whatever sentence he imposed.
Judge Moran said it was a very, very sad case - particularly for Mrs Curtin, who was taking her children on a day out. "I can only offer my sympathy but it's very little by way of compensation for her loss."
Judge Moran told McGinn his behaviour in driving the stolen car "was really quite shocking and horrific". He noted that McGinn had previous convictions and remarked it was the third fatal car theft case in Cork courts this year.
He dealt with one in February and his colleague, Judge A.G. Murphy, dealt with another on Thursday, he said. "Any penalty I impose must be seen as a deterrent to people who are thinking of stealing fast-powered cars."
Judge Moran jailed McGinn for 10 years - backdated to August 28th when he was taken into in custody. He said he would review the sentence in 2003 but cautioned that his attitude then would be entirely dependent on what progress McGinn made in prison.