‘Every day, I’m haunted by it’: Brother of hit-and-run victim speaks out ahead of documentary

The brother of a 40-year-old man killed by a stolen car has spoken of the devastating impact his death continues to have on his family, saying he is still haunted by the scene where his brother was killed.

Speaking on Ireland AM this morning ahead of tonight’s documentary Joyriders: Ireland’s Lucky Dip Gang, Conor Farrelly recalled the night his brother Michael ‘Mikey’ Farrelly was killed in a hit-and-run in Baldoyle.

Mikey had been at a family event and was walking home when he was struck by a stolen car, just 50 metres from the entrance to his estate.

The car had been stolen in Malahide a few hours earlier.

“They didn't stop. They didn't check if he was okay. They didn't check if he was alive. They went and they hid. They ran,” Conor said.

The impact on the family has been profound.

“Even to this day, if I hear a knock on the door, you know, I'm brought straight back to when the guards arrived to tell us the news,” he said.

“Every day, most days, I drive by that spot on the road where Mikey was killed, and I'm haunted by it.”

Conor described being haunted by the images of the aftermath, including his brother lying at the scene and the chaos surrounding it.

Mikey’s injuries were so severe that his family had to have a closed-casket funeral.

“Couldn't even say goodbye to him properly,” Conor said.

The documentary also examines the issue of repeat offenders and the consequences of car theft and dangerous driving.

Conor said he believed offenders currently had little fear of the consequences of their actions.

“I think at the moment they have no fear of the consequences whatsoever,” he said.

Speaking about one person convicted in connection with his brother’s death, Conor said the individual had 92 previous convictions.

He said 25 of those convictions came after the hit-and-run which killed Mikey, including offences relating to dangerous driving and being a passenger in a stolen car.

He said the individual was eventually arrested while in the process of stealing another car.

The issue of repeat offending has also featured in subsequent court proceedings arising from Mikey’s death.

In June this year, Calum McDonagh, then aged 19, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to knowingly allowing himself to be carried in the stolen vehicle without the owner’s consent. He was sentenced to two years and six months, with the final six months suspended. The court heard he had 91 previous convictions and had committed 25 offences since the fatal collision.

Mikey was the son of well-known Navan businessman Philip Farrelly, of Farrelly & Scully Accounting on Kennedy Road, and his funeral was held at St Ciarán’s Church in Carnaross, where he was buried alongside his late mother.

Mourners heard how Mikey had fulfilled a lifelong ambition by recording songs for an album shortly before his death. His brother Conor described him as someone who had been incredibly happy in the final weeks of his life.

Joyriders: Ireland’s Lucky Dip Gang airs tonight, Tuesday, September 29, at 9pm on Virgin Media One and Virgin Media Play.