Man Sentenced for Dangerous Driving Causing Niece's Tragic Death

A man has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for dangerous driving causing the death of his 21-year-old niece in Rathkeale, Co Limerick over a year ago. Marguerita O'Rourke was killed in the hit-and-run incident in the days before Christmas 2024, three weeks after giving birth to a baby boy. Judge Colin Daly told Limerick Circuit Court that the tragedy was compounded by the fact that the accused, Danny O’Donoghue, was her uncle. The young woman was opening steel gates for her mother, who had pulled up in a van outside the family home, when her uncle Danny O’Donoghue drove his van into the gates, causing a head injury which led to her death. The court heard that the accused was unaware that anybody had been injured in the incident. Last year, O’Donoghue pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of his niece in Rathkeale on 21 December 2024. At the sentencing hearing in October, the 43-year-old of Lower Main Street, Rathkeale, told the court that he will carry the shame and guilt with him always. 'Reckless, violent and dangerous' His actions were described as "reckless, violent and dangerous" by the victim’s husband, Denis O’Rourke. In a victim impact statement read to the court, he said whatever feud had existed between the families did not justify what happened his wife. He said instead of planning their first Christmas with their new baby, he was planning her funeral. CCTV footage played to the court showed the defendant driving a white van down the Main Street of Rathkeale before turning onto Bank Place. The van was seen ramming into the 2.62m high gates before O’Donoghue shouted at his sister standing across the road: "Get out of town, Doite." O’Donoghue then drove off. In garda evidence, the court was told Margaret Sheridan thought her brother had just caused damage to the property, until she saw her daughter's slipper stuck under the gate and walked around the gate to see the 21-year-old lying injured on the ground. In an apology letter to the deceased’s mother, which was read out in court, O’Donoghue told his sister: "I am the person who did this terrible sin. I have to live with the fact my actions caused her death." The 43-year-old said he prayed that his niece is in heaven "because she was an angel here". He appealed to his sister and family to find some way to forgive him. 'Untimely and unnecessary death' John Sheridan, Ms O’Rourke's father, said her loss had left a profoundly devastating effect on his family, and they were heartbroken at her "untimely and unnecessary death". He described his daughter as kind, loving and wonderful, and a natural mother to her baby, despite her young age. Before sentencing O’Donoghue, Judge Daly extended his sympathies to Marguerita O’Rourke’s family, and said the loss of "a young woman, a new wife and a new mother" was immense. He said for one member of the family to cause the death of another "surely adds to the grief of all members of the extended family". Judge Daly said the accused "intentionally and deliberately rammed the gates", and while he did not intend to cause harm to another, "his level of recklessness was grave". He sentenced O’Donoghue to 5-and-a-half years in prison and suspended the final six months to facilitate his rehabilitation. He backdated the sentence to when O’Donoghue was first taken into custody. The accused was also disqualified from driving for seven years.