Offaly driver crashed day after pints, shots and cocaine

Young carpenter jailed as Tullamore Circuit Court hears grandmother died three weeks after head-on collision near Ballinagar

Published 20th Jun 2026, 16:30 BST Sentence imposed on driver at Tullamore Circuit Court | Tribune Pictures Young carpenter jailed as Tullamore Circuit Court hears grandmother died three weeks after head-on collision near Ballinagar Sign up to our Offaly Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Offaly Live within your account.

A DRIVER will begin a jail sentence next week after Tullamore Circuit Court heard his car collided head-on with another vehicle the morning after he had been drinking and taking cocaine.

Adam Kelly (28), Castlewood Cottages, Geashill , was sentenced after pleading guilty to careless driving causing serious bodily harm at Ballycue, Ballinagar on July l7, 2023.

Mr Kelly also admitted charges of drink driving and drug driving and a charge of dangerous driving causing death was dropped.

The Circuit Court heard that a passenger in the car struck by Mr Kelly's, Breda Heffernan, died nearly three weeks after the crash.

Judge Keenan Johnson outlined that Mr Kelly and some friends went drinking in Tullamore at about 1pm after a game of football and the accused indicated himself he had eight pints, three to four shots and three to four lines of cocaine.

He got a taxi home, arriving at about 2.30am and after a little over five hours sleep, Mr Kelly got up and decided to go for breakfast in Tullamore with his cousin Dylan.

As he was passing through Ballycue, Ballinagar, he met Mary Todd's car coming in the opposite direction and seeing him on the wrong side of the road, she pulled over to her incorrect side but Mr Kelly corrected his position and there was a collision.

Judge Johnson said Mary Todd was dropping her mother Breda Heffernan home at the time and both women were seriously injured.

Breda Heffernan had several fractures, including broken ribs and a broken clavicle and developed a lower respiratory tract infection.

She died on August 9, 2023 and a post mortem concluded death was caused by acute broncho pneumonia most likely due to polytrauma including chest wall fractures received in the collision.

Investigating gardai got a statement from Elaine Joyce, who lived near the crash site, saying she head a bang.

Ms Joyce said Mr Kelly said he was sorry for what happened and also asked her to ring his mother.

Garda Christopher McDermott was told at the scene by Mr Kelly that he had been drink driving and the accident was his fault.

Analysis of his blood showed him to be nearly three times over the legal alcohol limit and he was almost four times above the legal limit for benzoylecgonine/cocaine and just above the limit for cocaine.

When he was interviewed by the gardai Mr Kelly was fully co-operative and detailed what happened. “His attitude towards the victims was one of concern and he was genuinely remorseful,” said Judge Johnson.

A victim impact statement from Mary Todd described her mother's injuries as “catastrophic” and she had to spend eight days in hospital herself with a broken foot, ribs, shoulder and back bone.

She was on crutches for eight weeks, had a back brace for 12, continues to suffer reduced mobility in her shoulder and daily pain in her back and will likely be an early candidate for arthritis.

She suffered loss of earnings after being out of work for six months and along with the physical injuries, the collision resulted in the loss by the family of a “much loved mother and grandmother” who was extremely active, healthy and energetic at the time of her death despite a diagnosis of dementia.

Ms Todd “quite rightly” pointed out her mother did not deserve to go through such agony, said the judge.

Judge Johnson added: “This is an extremely serious offence given that the accused was intoxicated and the accident resulted in serious injuries to Mary Todd and the ultimate demise of her mother Breda Heffernan.”

He said her passing leaves a huge void in the lives of her family, particularly given what she suffered in her final days.

“Any sentence imposed will not undo the great harm that has been done to the Heffernan family, however it is important that the sentence imposed reflects the values of the late Mrs Heffernan and is a fitting tribute to her.”

The judge hoped “lessons can be learned”, in particular the need for drivers to appreciate how long it takes alcohol and drugs to work their way out of one's system before it is safe to drive.

He described the level of intoxication of Mr Kelly as the major aggravating factor in sentencing.

He said Mr Kelly's “immediate acknowledgement” that he was in the wrong indicated he was “aware when he took out the car that he was intoxicated”.

In mitigation he had pleaded guilty and saved the State the time and cost of a criminal trial and saved Mary Todd the trauma of having to give evidence.

He noted that since the collision Mr Kelly had stopped driving and taking illicit drugs: “The accused has no previous convictions and the offending is an aberration for him. The court is satisfied that the accused is unlikely to reoffend.”

Mr Kelly's prospects are good because he is a qualified carpenter with a good employment history and he had written a fulsome letter of apology.

He had the support of his family and his partner and wrote that “if he could turn back the clock he would have stayed at home and not driven at all”.

Judge Johnson said there were testimonials from his employer and a local GAA club chairman which spoke of his good character and reputation as a sportsman and carpenter.

“The court has also been furnished with numerous drug test results indicating that the accused is now clear of all illegal drugs,” added the judge.

He also said Mr Kelly's acknowledgement of his wrongdoing should help resolve Mary Todd's claim for compensation and stated that the accused's insurance company “should not under any circumstances dispute liability” and should discharge the claim for 100% of its value.

The maximum penalty for careless driving causing serious bodily harm is two years in prison and Judge Johnson said Mr Kelly's offending was at the “upper end”.

After mitigation he sentenced him to 14 months and suspended five months of that for five years on condition he enter a peace bond and refrain from using drugs.

He also banned him from driving for six years and imposed concurrent three-month sentences and one-year disqualifications for the drink and drug-driving offences.

He said Mr Kelly is an inherently decent young man whose offending was out of character and he had been strongly urged by his legal representatives to consider suspending all of the sentence.

“Regrettably I am unable to accede to that submission. The message has to go out that anybody who is involved in a collision while under the influence of an intoxicant can expect a custodial sentence to deter others from engaging in such activity,” he said.

He gave Mr Kelly a week to get his affairs in order and told him to present himself at Portlaoise Circuit Court on June 26 to begin his sentence.

Related topics: Ballinagar Tullamore Tullamore Circuit Court Geashill GAA Sign up to our Offaly Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Offaly Live within your account.