Drunk, uninsured driver to pay €20k fine after leaving cyclists with life-changing injuries

The Court of Appeal has imposed a €20,000 fine on a man convicted of dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm after he collided with two cyclists while significantly over the legal alcohol limit. Muiris Flynn, aged 31, of Meadow Bank, Geevagh, County Sligo, struck the cyclists on a road near Boyle, County Roscommon, on 24 September 2017. The collision left both victims with life-changing injuries, including spinal fractures and other serious harm. Flynn had pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm, drink driving, and driving without insurance. The Court of Appeal found the original four-year custodial sentence imposed by Roscommon Circuit Court unduly lenient. However, having considered that Flynn had been released from prison and secured employment, the three-judge court declined to increase the custodial term but instead imposed the substantial fine. Flynn remains disqualified from driving for eight years.