The O’Farrell family welcome today’s long-overdue State apology for the catalogue of systemic failures that led to the tragic death of Shane in August 2011. Today’s State apology is significant and a solemn recognition of the systemic failure that “exposed Shane to a threat to which he should not have been exposed” and which cost him his life. "The criminal justice system did not protect" Shane.
Shane, just 23, was killed while cycling near his home. As acknowledged in today’s apology, the man responsible, Zigimantas Gridziuska, should never have been on the road. He was on bail for at least six offences on the night in question, had committed over 30 offences while on bail, and had 34 convictions across three jurisdictions. Between 27 January 2010 and Shane’s death Gridziuska was convicted of 22 offences - Gridziuska was on bail for that entire period.
An hour before Shane was killed, the car Gridziuska was travelling in was stopped by plain clothes Gardai. Driver had no insurance and was awaiting prosecution for driving without insurance. Gardai permitted Gridziuska to drive, despite outstanding warrants for his arrest and breaches of bail from numerous courts. Within an hour Shane was dead.
Gridziuska did not serve one minute for killing Shane. In fact, the court by way of sentence gave him the choice to serve an 8-month sentence or to join his son in Lithuania. He chose the latter.
State failure
Shane’s case raises serious issues about the criminal justice system including issues around the implementation of our bail laws, presentation of previous convictions, mishandling of repeat offenders, acting on warrants, information supplied to Coroner’s Inquests, the effectiveness of GSOC, and transparency around the use of informers by members of the Gardai.
Members of the Gardai and prosecution failed on multiple occasions to notify successive Judges, in District and Circuit Courts, of the multiple and frequent breaches by Gridziuska of his bail conditions. Had they done so, he would have been in custody on 2 August 2011 and could not have killed Shane. As outlined in today’s apology, appeal notices were not lodged, and a prison sentence not served.
Shane’s case reveals a critical failure in how bail is applied and monitored in Ireland. When repeat offenders remain free despite obvious risk, public confidence is damaged. Communities suffer. Lives are lost. The continuous granting of bail to recidivist offenders, whether that be for summary offences or indictable offences, needs to be addressed. There must be strict consequences for those who continuously offend while on bail and breach bail conditions.
State response
The treatment of our family by various state bodies, once we started asking questions and advocating for Shane, was abusive and disrespectful. From the beginning, the State should have stood with us and provided us with answers but instead it stood against us. What followed was stonewalling by state agencies who adopted deflection, evasiveness and most importantly, a deliberate lack of completeness and transparency. We learned of Gridziuska’s criminal past from our own efforts, not from the State. For years we engaged in a forensic exercise reviewing old newspapers and documents obtained through our searches, FOI, media outlets, applications to the courts north and south, to piece together Gridziuska’s criminal history. It was only on the presentation of evidence to state bodies that acknowledgments or concessions were reluctantly made (see point 26 below by way of example). A cover-up culture is endemic, with state agencies covering for one another. Even when facts were established, brief’s prepared for Ministers (which we have seen through FOI) were misleading and deficient, and led to an incomplete picture being presented to the Dail and Cabinet.
We hope that the apology today is a watershed for the Department of Justice and state bodies engaged in the administration of justice. We hope that senior civil servants reflect on the malpractice identified both before and after Shane’s death. Those involved in the culture of concealment which we have experienced should be asked by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach to account for their actions. Public servants should be there to protect us and to act in our best interests.
This State apology is a recognition by the Government, on behalf of all its institutions, that serious failings occurred. It is a recognition of institutional failure, not just individual wrongdoing. We hope that our advocacy over the past 13 years has drawn attention to the failings in the system and it is now incumbent on the State to address these issues.
