Michael Collins’s 15-year sentence and lifetime driving ban upheld

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

The Court of Appeal upheld Michael Collins’s 15-year sentence, with one year suspended, and his lifetime driving ban on 5 November 2024. The sentence followed the death of his passenger, Jillian Thornton, aged 20, in a crash on 27 May 2016.

Collins, of St Finian’s Park, Drogheda, was convicted at Trim Circuit Court on 29 March 2019 of dangerous driving causing Ms Thornton’s death at Waterside Great, Duleek, Co Meath. He was also convicted of two charges of endangerment, 12 charges of dangerous driving and driving under the influence of cannabis. He denied all the charges.

Judge Martina Baxter sentenced Collins to 15 years in prison, with one year suspended. The proceedings were reported on 17 July 2019. Before sentencing, Collins apologised to Ms Thornton’s family and said he wished he had stopped the car. He maintained that gardaí had hit him, causing the crash; Judge Baxter rejected his belief that gardaí were to blame.

The trial heard that the crash followed a Garda pursuit after Collins failed to stop. Garda witnesses described dangerous driving, including travelling at speed on the wrong side of the road without lights. Collins claimed he feared for his life because someone had put a hit on him and he did not believe gardaí were following him.

At the appeal hearing on 11 October 2024, defence counsel Michael Lynn argued that the sentence was excessive and the lifetime ban would impair Collins’s rehabilitation. Carl Hanahoe SC, for the State, argued that Collins’s previous convictions for reckless endangerment justified the ban. The appeal court found no double counting or error in principle in sentencing. Delivering judgment, Mr Justice John Edwards said Collins still posed a risk to the public.

The Court of Appeal had separately dismissed Collins’s conviction appeal, in which he argued he should not have been allowed to represent himself at trial. The Irish Times reported that decision on 25 July 2023.