A central witness in the Mr Moonlight murder trial was today given a fully suspended one-year jail sentence and a one-year driving ban, after she admitted a charge of careless driving causing the death of a “master craftsman” carpenter, three years ago.
Mary Lowry (57), of Green Road, Dundrum, Co Tipperary, wept at Clonmel Circuit Criminal Court as Judge Catherine Staines imposed the sentence after hearing emotional testimony from the victim’s family.
Ms Lowry admitted driving her grey coloured Volkswagen Passat without due care or attention, thereby causing the death of father-of-five Patrick “Paddy (Flags)” Connolly.
The fatal collision occurred on the N24 Waterford to Limerick road, close to an entrance to Bansha Woods, Spring House, Bansha, Co Tipperary, around 12.45pm, on December 28th, 2021.
Ms Lowry wept in court as her barrister, Pádraig de Búrca BL, read on her behalf a letter of apology she had written to the Connolly family in which she apologised “for not paying attention” to her driving on the day.
“If I could change it, I would, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me and that [Patrick Connolly] can Rest In Peace,” Ms Lowry wrote.
The court heard Ms Lowry had waited for around two minutes for traffic travelling on the N24 to pass by an entrance to Bansha Woods, and when believing the coast was clear, she turned right out of the entrance and onto the N24.
The road, however, was not clear, and the Passat collided with a motorcycle being driven by Mr Connolly, who was carrying his 15-year-old son, David Connolly, as a pillion passenger.
The father and son had been participating in a charity bike event at the time. Mr Connolly died from his injuries in hospital on January 2nd.
Mr Connolly’s wife, Geraldine Connolly, wept in court as she described the impact of her husband’s death and said she was “never concerned” about him travelling on his motorbike “as he was always a careful driver”.
“He was the love of my life. The worst thing is the silence, he is no longer breathing beside me at night, we were together for 30 years,” Mrs Connolly said.
She said Paddy had been “a master craftsman, carpenter, a great father, provider and husband”.
Mr Connolly’s daughter, Rebecca Connolly, said her father’s unexpected death was “truly world shattering” and that her brother David, who was with their father at the time of the collision, suffers from “survivor’s guilt”.
David Connolly told gardaí that moments before the collision he saw a car drive “into our lane, and I was thrown off the bike... I went over the car and I remember being fairly winded.”
Another witness, Philip Kiely, a participant in the charity bike run on the day who was travelling behind Mr Connolly, told gardaí that a car “shot out in front of him, Paddy had nowhere to go.”
Mr Kiely said he saw Mr Connolly propel “up in the air, and his son went over him” on impact with this car.
A Garda forensic report into the collision noted that road conditions and visibility were good on the day, and that Mrs Lowry had been “required to yield to traffic” travelling on the N24.
The report also noted that Mr Connolly might have been more visible to Mrs Lowry had he been wearing high visibility clothing at the time.
Senior counsel Colman Cody said Mrs Lowry’s “fatal and momentary lapse of concentration” had resulted in “dreadful” and “devastating consequences”.
“Mary Lowry has to live with these devastating consequences, it is a sentence in itself,” he said. “She recognises her momentary inattention and lack of care led to the tragedy.”
Mr Cody said Ms Lowry, who had no previous convictions, had lost her own husband tragically to cancer, leaving her to raise her three children alone.
He said Ms Lowry was “well known” after appearing before the Central Criminal Court in 2019 as an “essential witness in a high profile murder trial that led to the prosecution of the accused in that trial, it was a very difficult and traumatising time for her”.
Ms Lowry had given evidence at the murder trial of killer Patrick Quirke, whom she been in a romantic relationship with, and which was key to the prosecution case against him.
Ms Lowry’s boyfriend, Bobby Ryan, a popular DJ known as “Mr Moonlight”, went missing on June 3rd, 2011, after leaving her home at 6.30am. His body was found on April 30th, 2013, in an underground septic tank on Ms Lowry’s farm which was being leased by Quirke.
The prosecution in the murder trial claimed Quirke murdered Mr Ryan so he could rekindle an affair with Ms Lowry. Quirke is serving a mandatory life sentence in prison having lost an appeal against the verdict.
Today, Mr Cody said Mary Lowry was a volunteer support worker with cancer patients and people with disabilities, and he argued before Judge Staines that jailing her would “serve no purpose”.
Mr Cody submitted Ms Lowry’s “bad driving” had been “at the lowest end of the scale”. However, Judge Staines disagreed and said that in the court’s opinion, Lowry’s driving was in the “mid-range” of careless driving.
The charge carries a maximum two-year prison term, and/or a fine not exceeding €10,000.
Judge Staines said she believed Ms Lowry was “truly remorseful” and told her “you now have to live with the consequences of this truly awful event”.
After the sentence and driving ban was imposed, Ms Lowry wept and said “thank you judge” before leaving the court.
