Osborn Irabor loses appeal against careless driving conviction

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

Osborn Irabor lost his Court of Appeal challenge to his conviction for careless driving causing the death of cyclist Mary White. The proceedings were reported on 19 October 2021.

Irabor, 60, of French Park, Tyrrelstown, Dublin, pleaded not guilty to the charge. The collision happened on 17 November 2014 at a T-junction on Burlington Road, Dublin 4, at 9.40pm. White, 55, died from her head injuries two days later.

He was convicted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in October 2018 and disqualified from driving for four years. His lawyers later argued that trial judge Francis Comerford had not explained legal terms to the jury in a way they could understand.

At an appeal hearing in January, Irabor’s counsel Patrick Gageby SC said the jury had asked for legal principles to be explained in layman’s terms, but that Judge Comerford had re-charged it using legal language. Counsel also said there was no suggestion Irabor had been using a phone, talking to someone or doing anything else that might have distracted him from driving.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, noting that neither side had raised requisitions arising from the re-charge. In the written judgment, Mr Justice John Edwards said the verdict was open to the jury on the evidence. He said the prosecution had presented clear evidence that Irabor’s double-decker bus appeared to cut the corner before knocking White off her bicycle.