Singer Ronan Keating has issued a new devastating statement after the man responsible for his brother's death was spared jail. His brother, Ciaran died in a car crash in Mayo, Ireland, in July 2023 while on his way to his son's football match. He suffered fatal injuries as a result of the collision on the N5 at Ballymiles – a stretch of road which is known for accidents. Following the accident, Dean Harte, 22, from Tyrellspass, County Westmeath was handed a 17 month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was banned from driving by Judge Eoin Garavan for two years.
Now, Ronan has issued an emotional statement. The former Boyzone singer said: "The Keating family are surprised and hugely disappointed with the sentence and hope and expect the DPP to appeal the leniency of it. We will be encouraging the DPP to appeal and rightfully fight for justice. Not only for Ciaran and our family, but for all of those killed on Irish roads and at the hands of someone else's careless actions.
"The only way to stop reckless driving and encourage people (especially youth) to abide by the law, is to enforce consequences for not doing so." Writing alongside his post, Ronan said: "No family should ever have to make an official statement of this nature, we thank you for your time and patience while we digested and composed ourselves after the upsetting events that transpired yesterday.".
Following directions from the DPP, Dean Harte, had been charged with careless driving causing death and serious injury. He pleaded guilty to the crime. Ciaran's wife was unable to attend her husband's funeral due to injuries she sustained in the accident. In court, John Shortt, counsel for Harte, called the accident "an absolute tragedy". He said the life of the Keating family had been changed forever and explained that while it's difficult for them to accept an apology, Harte had offered a letter expressing "genuine remorse". He said the Keating family had rejected the offer.
The Journal said impact statements on behalf of Annmarie Keating and her family were read to the hearing by one of her sons, Conall. "Ciarán was the love of my life and the beat of my heart", Mrs Keating wrote. "I will never get over this and be the same again." Earlier today, Ronan shared a previous statement, explaining that the sentencing was a "devastating example" of a "broken justice system.".
He said: "You can kill a man... and you can walk free. Not even a single night in prison. Just a slap on the wrist and a ticket to carry on your life, like nothing happened. And then we wonder why we keep seeing this kind of behaviour on our roads, why people keep dying in road accidents across Ireland every week? It's a joke and it's morally corrupt that rather than trying to fix our broken system, they all turn a blind eye.".
He went on to hit out at the driver before saying "shame on everyone involved in this process that contributed to the heartbreaking outcome for my family today." Devastatingly, Ronan said his family will now never find peace: "We will continue to fight for Ciaran's justice. At this time we think of all the other families who have found themselves in our position, and we pray that other families never do.".
