Ronan Keating has issued a scathing statement on the “broken justice system” in Ireland, after the man behind the wheel in the car crash that killed his brother walked free from court this week.
Ronan’s older brother Ciaran died in the July 2023 crash as he made his way to his son’s football match in County Mayo, in the west of Ireland.
Dean Harte, who was involved in the collision, pleaded guilty to charges of careless driving causing death and was handed a 17-month sentence suspended for two years at Castlebar Circuit Court in Mayo on Wednesday.
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Ronan took to social media to vent at his anguish at the sentencing, which he said was “just a slap on the wrist and a ticket to carry on your life, like nothing ever happened”.
“Today’s sentencing was a devastating example of just how broken our justice system is,” he wrote.
“You can kill a man… and you can walk free. Not even a single night in prison.”
The Boyzone singer said such leniency in sentencing doesn’t do enough to discourage others from dangerous driving practices.
“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 wrote.
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Ronan, 47, said the family “will never find peace” but “will continue to fight for Ciaran’s justice”.
“Shame on everyone involved in this process that contributed to the heartbreaking outcome for my family today,” he said, adding that he was praying other families didn’t find themselves in the same position.
The When You Say Nothing At All singer later also shared the Keating family official statement in response to the sentencing.
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“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,” he captioned the post.
In the statement the family noted their “surprise” at the sentence, saying they were “hugely disappointed” by the outcome.
Ronan’s sister, Valerie Keating, shared the same statement on her social media profile.
“When justice did not prevail,” she captioned the post.
The court was told that nobody was speeding when Harte’s Audi A3 crashed head-on with Ciaran Keating’s Ford Focus, according to the BBC.
The 57-year-old died at the scene and his wife Annemarie was also seriously injured in the crash.
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