Denis Foley receives suspended sentences for dangerous driving

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Retired priest Denis Foley received concurrent 18-month sentences, suspended in full, after his car struck mourners outside a Clondalkin church. Christopher Phillips died and three people were seriously injured. The proceedings were reported on 17 April 2023.

Foley pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Christopher Phillips and grievous bodily harm to Jason Kelly, Martin Cawley and Rebecca Meredith. The offences occurred on 25 June 2018.

The court heard that Foley’s car rolled into a parked vehicle outside the Church of the Immaculate Conception, swung to the right and accelerated through the crowd before crashing into bollards. Phillips, 78, died in Tallaght Hospital the following month. A post-mortem examination found that he died of multiple organ failure as a result of being struck by the car.

Foley said he was terribly sorry and thought he must have pushed the automatic car’s stick the wrong way. He later told gardaí he had been trying to find a better parking space, was not confident in the car and did not know why it moved so fast.

Judge Martin Nolan said confusion and Foley’s lack of experience with his hybrid car mainly led to his loss of control. He acknowledged that Foley had not intended to drive in that way, said he did not deserve a custodial sentence and said he would not drive again.