AN 18-YEAR-OLD uninsured motorist who knocked down a retired family doctor causing him “life changing and catastrophic injuries” while driving under the influence of drugs was jailed for five years today, with the final year suspended.

Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court Judge Eoin Garavan also disqualified Patrick Sweeney, now aged 20, from driving for ten years after he was found guilty of dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to former Castlebar GP Dr. Paul Carney.

Judge Garavan said the accident which caused Paul Carney devastating brain trauma and physical injuries on the N84 Castlebar to Ballinrobe road had been “entirely unnecessary and entirely avoidable”.

The judge noted that the victim, a father of five and grandfather of sixteen, had been enjoying the freedom of his first days of retirement and the pleasure of cycling in the countryside on 14 June 2023.

The consequences of the accident were described by Judge Garavan as horrendous and life-changing for the victim and his family.

He said Paul Carney had just been deemed cancer free. “Imagine”, he asked, “the happiness of that man on a beautiful summer day”.

The court heard that Sweeney, who was driving his mother’s Toyota Avensis, had been uninsured and traces of cannabis and cocaine had been found in his system.

He had been travelling at high speeds of up to 115km/h on the N84, and admitted to gardaí afterwards that he could not avoid the impact due to his excessive speed.

Evidence was given to an earlier hearing that six minutes prior to the accident, Sweeney had been involved in a game of “tag” with an unknown BMW driver.

The game had involved the vehicles passing each other out, causing alarm to other road users who felt that a serious accident was unavoidable.

Describing Sweeney’s driving as “manifestly dangerous”, Judge Garavan said he had engaged in a rather thrilling race game between Ballinrobe and the scene of the accident.

The judge noted that Sweeney, who had two passengers in his vehicle, had failed to stop at the accident scene, but had returned within a matter of minutes.

At a previous hearing, Paul Carney’s daughter Brenda had read a victim impact statement, in which she said her Dad was “on top of the world” on that fateful morning.

He had just received a clean bill of health after going through cancer treatment.

“Life was good and he was embracing it with gusto as he always did,” Brenda said.

“That morning he dropped his grandchildren to school as usual. It was a beautiful day and he planned to go for a swim after his cycle, with the wind on his back along a road he knew so well.”

Brenda said her father’s “soul and his spark” have been taken away.

“He will never be able to live independently and he will never return to the home that he loved and worked so hard for all his life.

“Dad is living but he has no quality of life. We are grieving but we have no grave.”

On his release, Sweeney is to come under the care of the probation service for one and a half years and complete 200 hours community service post release within 18 months.

The prison sentence imposed today has been backdated to 18 October, when Sweeney was first taken into custody.

At the outset of today’s sentencing hearing, prosecuting counsel, Patrick Reynolds, read a message from the Carney family in which they thanked Judge Garavan, the gardaí and the courts service “for their time, consideration and professionalism which was shown to us at all times throughout this ordeal.”