Gerry Daly acquitted of dangerous driving causing death

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

Gerry Daly was acquitted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of dangerous driving causing the death of Jacqueline Griffin. The jury returned its verdict on 24 November 2023 after deliberating for six hours and 50 minutes.

Daly had pleaded not guilty. The proceedings were reported on 24 November 2023.

The charge related to a collision at junction five of the M50 on 24 January 2019. Griffin, 39, died instantly from catastrophic head injuries after her car was forced into crash barriers.

Garnet Orange SC, prosecuting, said the State’s case was that Daly had driven at speed and weaved through traffic. He also told the jury there would be evidence that Daly, who had type one diabetes, was experiencing a related medical condition that affected his ability to drive and left him unable to exercise control over the vehicle.

Consultant endocrinologist Dr Kevin Moore told the jury that, in his opinion, Daly was in a severe hypoglycaemic state and had not made a conscious decision to get into the car and drive. He said Daly’s judgement was impaired and that he could have carried out basic functions on “autopilot”, but badly, erratically and unsafely.

In his closing speech, defence counsel Roderick O’Hanlon SC said Daly’s brain function and cognitive ability were diminished by extremely low blood sugar. He said Daly was driving in an autonomous condition and was unaware of where he was or exactly what had happened.

Judge Elma Sheahan thanked the jury and described the case as difficult, particularly for Griffin’s family.