After a trial was ready to go ahead the Co Donegal man charged with dangerous driving causing the deaths of eight people in Inishowen in 2010 changed his plea to guilty.
The crash had resulted in the biggest loss of life in one single road traffic incident in the history of the State.
The trial of Shaun Kelly was due to begin yesterday with defence barrister Peter Nolan saying it could last more than one week.
Kelly (25), Hill Road, Buncrana appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court as did the families of those who died in the crash outside Clonmany.
Kelly had initially pleaded not guilty to the charge shortly before 11am.
A jury panel of six men and six women was then sworn in.
However, when the case was due to commence, Kelly asked to be re-arraigned and changed his plea to guilty.
Judge John O’Hagan released Kelly on his own bail until December 9th.
He ordered all the appropriate medical and other reports to be carried out on Kelly.
‘Distressing but positive’
Judge O’Hagan then addressed members of the families who had come to court, saying: “Something distressing but positive has happened and I hope it gives you some closure on the affair.”
He informed them of Kelly’s decision to plead guilty and asked that one member of each family provide a victim impact statement to be presented in the future. He also asked each family to nominate a family member to read out that report at a future sitting.
The case was due to last up to one week, with a number of reports and expert testimonies to be heard in court.
The case was mentioned last week at the opening day of the current Letterkenny Circuit Court sitting when State barrister Patricia McLoughlin requested a German translator to aid an expert witness from Germany.
The judge said the deaths of seven young men as well as an elderly man returning home from bingo on the night of July 11th, 2010, had left a huge scar on the landscape of the Inishowen peninsula where they all lived.
With this in mind, he said the selection of possible jury members for yesterday’s trial was made outside of the Inishowen area. Despite this a number of those selected were excused after it was heard they knew relatives of those killed in the crash.
Multiple injuries
Those killed in the two-car crash on the night of the World Cup final in 2010 were Hugh Friel (66), Urris, Clonmany; Eamon McDaid (22), Ballymagan, Buncrana; Mark McLaughlin (21), Ballinahone, Fahan; Paul Doherty (19), Ardagh, Ballyliffin; Ciarán Sweeney (19), Ballyliffin; PJ McLaughlin (21), Rockstown, Burnfoot; James McEleney (23), Meenaduff, Clonmany, and Damien McLaughlin (21), Umricam, Buncrana.
Kelly spent a number of weeks in Letterkenny General Hospital and suffered multiple injuries.
The deaths of the men caused a huge outpouring of grief across Inishowen and the wider community. The funerals took place over a number of days to allow some of the families of the deceased to attend more than one burial.
Some of the seven young men who died in Kelly’s Volkswagen Passat car had known each other since they were young boys. The trial has faced numerous delays over the past two years. The most recent involved an application by Kelly’s legal team to see if he was fit to plead. During that time Judge O’Hagan apologised to the families of all concerned over the delays in bringing the case to trial.