Maurice Sheehy fined €500 for careless driving causing death

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

Maurice Sheehy was fined €500 at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for careless driving causing the death of Sister Helen Power. He pleaded guilty to the offence. The proceedings were reported on 10 March 2015.

The fatal collision happened on the Tallaght bypass of the N81 at the Old Bawn junction on 7 August 2013. Tony McGillicuddy, BL, prosecuting, acknowledged that Sister Helen Power walked into the road while the pedestrian lights were red and without looking left or right.

Garda Bridget Malone said Maurice Sheehy was driving well below the 80km/h speed limit and was not distracted. She said he was looking at the green light in the moments before the collision but had made a “failure of observation” to see Sister Helen Power.

A witness statement read by Paul Greene, SC, defending, said Sister Helen Power looked as though she was in a trance as she walked into the road.

Judge Martin Nolan did not disqualify Maurice Sheehy from driving, saying it would be a “major punishment” on his family. The report said Maurice Sheehy worked nights as a van driver so he could care for his five-year-old daughter while his wife worked. Judge Martin Nolan said Sister Helen Power appeared to be “in a world of her own”, but there had been some failure by Maurice Sheehy to avoid the incident, although it was not of his own creation.