Ronan Keating speaks out on sentencing of driver who killed his brother
Ronan Keating has spoken out against the court sentencing of the man who killed his brother, as a result of careless driving.
In July 2023, Dean Harte, who is originally from Westmeath, collided with Ciaran Keating's car near Swinford. 57-year-old Ciaran died at the scene.
Yesterday (February 19), the 22-year-old driver was given a 17-month suspended sentence for careless driving causing death. He is also disqualified from driving for two years.
Now, Boyzone hitmaker Ronan Keating has released a furious statement in response to the sentencing.
The 47-year-old recently took to Instagram to share his message on behalf of his family.
“Today's sentencing was a devastating example of just how broken our justice system is. You can kill a man… and you can walk free. Not even a single night in prison. Just a slap on the wrist and a ticket to carry on your life, like nothing ever happened,” he penned.
“And then we wonder why we keep seeing this kind of behaviour on our roads, why people keep dying in road accidents across Ireland every week? It's a joke and it's morally corrupt that rather than trying to fix our broken system, they all turn a blind eye,” Ronan accused.
“Shame on Dean Harte but more-so shame on everyone involved in this process that contributed to the heartbreaking outcome for my family today. The lord himself knows the injustice that was served and the Keating family will never find peace,” he admitted.
“We will continue to fight for Ciaran’s justice. At this time we think of all the other families who have found themselves in our position, and we pray that other families never do,” the singer added.
In court, Ciaran’s son Conall read out victim impact statements on behalf of Ciaran’s wife Annemarie and the couple’s other two children, Aisling and Ruairí.
In her message, Annemarie described her home without Ciaran as “a life sentence” and added that he was “the love of my life, 41 years together, the beat of my heart".
