Paul Connolly’s sentencing adjourned after guilty pleas over Coolmine collision

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

Paul Connolly pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Michael Igoe and Francis Dhala. He also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs, possessing cannabis, failing to remain at the scene, failing to offer assistance, failing to alert gardaí, and driving without insurance or a driving licence. The offences arose from an incident on Coolmine Road, Coolmine, on May 1, 2018. The proceedings were reported on April 5, 2019.

The report said Connolly drove onto a footpath after passing a line of traffic stopped at a railway barrier, hitting Mr Igoe and then Mr Dhala. Witnesses described him returning to the road, making a U-turn and driving “calmly” away. Connolly initially told gardaí he thought he had hit “a bush”; he later said he had taken his eyes off the road for a second and did not know he had hit anyone.

Mr Igoe sustained a fractured ankle and other injuries, underwent surgery and continued to limp. Mr Dhala suffered a severe head injury, underwent multiple surgeries and spent more than three months in hospital. The court heard he had ongoing cognitive and short-term memory problems.

Defence counsel Martin O'Rourke SC submitted a letter of apology and a psychological report. He said Connolly admitted taking cocaine and self-medicating with street benzodiazepine after he could no longer afford his antidepressants. Counsel asked Judge Melanie Greally to consider the early guilty plea and suggested that suspending a significant portion of any sentence could provide an incentive to address his issues. Judge Greally adjourned sentencing until May.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.