Inquest hears car was travelling at 121km/h on night of Bundoran collision

An inquest into the deaths of Shiva Devine and Conall McAleer, who tragically lost their lives in a road traffic collision heard the car they were passengers in was travelling at a speed of 121km/h ahead of impact.

The inquest also heard expert garda evidence which suggested five of the six passengers travelling in the car were not wearing seatbelts.  

Shiva Devine, 20, who was living in Belleek but originally from Donegal town, and Conall McAleer, 20, from Kesh, Fermanagh died in a single-vehicle collision at Single Street, Bundoran in the early hours of August 19, 2018. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. 

Their friend Rachel Elliot suffered life-changing injuries. 

Re-opening the inquest, this morning, Wednesday, Doctor Dennis McCauley said both Tristan and Connor Brennan, who were travelling in the blue Peugeot 306 on the night of the collision had been asked to attend the inquest, but had 'regretfully’ declined and are residing in a different jurisdiction.   

A statement from Rachel Elliot was read into evidence depicting very little recollection of the events leading up to the tragic collision. She recalled going to her ‘close friend’ Shiva’s house in Belleek and getting ready to go out. Having socialised in Fermanagh they made their way to the Paris nightclub in Bundoran. Her next memory was of waking up in Beaumont Hospital and being devastated on hearing that Shiva and Conall had died. The mother-of-one continues to work on her recovery. 

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The inquest also heard evidence from Robert Keely who was with his girlfriend Ciara when they heard what she described sounded like an articulated truck hit the wall outside. Robert ran to see what had happened and saw four bodies lying on the road. A trained first responder Robert began giving compressions to one of the males on the ground. He continued to help after paramedics arrived. 

Paddy Boyle was after finishing his security shift in the Paris nightclub when he came across what he initially thought was piles of clothing on the road. He then discovered it to be four bodies. A trained first responder he also began to help. 

The inquest heard gardaí were alerted to the incident at 3.45am.

Garda Oliver Devenney said he spoke to Conor Brennan who was standing on the footpath near the scene. Garda Devenney said, at the time, he was trying to ascertain who the driver of the car was. Mr Brennan told him that Joe Gilroy had been driving the car. Mr Brennan was taken via ambulance to Sligo University Hospital.

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Around 7am, Joe Gilroy returned to the scene with his father Brendan Gilroy and was taken to Ballyshannon Garda Station. In April 2021, the driver Joseph Gilroy, 24, of Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh, was sentenced at Donegal Circuit Court sitting in Letterkenny to five years and three months in prison.

Garda forensic expert, Gerry McCauley examined the scene following the accident. CCTV from the nearby petrol station captured the car travelling from Bundoran towards Ballyshannon. In his statement, read by Garda Oliver Devenney, Garda McCauley said the car had a number of bends to negotiate as it left Bundoran; the car lost control on the second bend and went into a clockwise rotation progressing onward. The front of the car impacted a wall which had steel railings. The car continued to rotate clockwise; it impacted the corner of a building. The rear boot lid was torn from the 1.9 diesel car and the rear windscreen was deposited at this location. The car continued onto the road in rotary movement. The vehicle continued to propel up the road in the left hand carriageway in the direction of Ballyshannon and it came to rest there. 

The average speed of the car was 118km/h (73mph) in a 50kph speed zone. 

Debris from the accident was found twenty-six metres away from the scene of the collision. 

Coroner McCauley said that the chain of events which took place on that night will have long lasting effects on all those involved. Describing the night as horrendous he apologised and paid his condolences to the families, and all those affected.

He commended those who had helped out on the night and added that the injuries incurred by both parties were of too serious a nature to be remedied. 

He noted that many of the passengers were not wearing seat belts and noted that four had been sitting in the rear of the car where it may have been difficult for them all to have access to an individual seat belt. 

He added that death had been instantaneous for the deceased. The cause of death was found to be as a result of head injuries consistent with being in a car accident.