James O’Donovan’s dangerous driving sentence cut

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

James O’Donovan had his sentence for dangerous driving causing two deaths cut by the Court of Appeal on 24 June 2016. The crash happened at Youngstown, Athy, on 27 December 2012.

O’Donovan had been sentenced to seven years after conviction at Naas Circuit Criminal Court. The appeal court ruled that sentence was unduly severe and that his defence could not be treated as an aggravating factor.

He was resentenced to five years, with the final year suspended, and his driving disqualification was reduced from 30 years to 12 years. The court also required him to enter a good behaviour bond.