The Court of Appeal has handed down a revised sentence of four years in jail for a man whose dangerous driving killed eight people in Donegal in 2010.
Shaun Kelly of Hill Road, Ballymagan in Buncrana, Co. Donegal was originally jailed for two years, but that was considered “unduly lenient” on appeal.
All eight of Shaun KellyÂ’s victims lived within a 15 mile radius of each other in Co. Donegal.
Seven of them were his friends, the youngest of whom was 19.
In the lead up to the crash, witnesses described seeing Mr. Kelly's crammed car speeding towards Buncrana before it smashed into Hugh FrielÂ’'s Toyota Corolla.
The 66-year-old farmer was also killed in what became Ireland'Â’s worst ever car crash.
Kelly, who iÂ’s now 27, was due for release sometime next year, after he was jailed for two years just before last Christmas.
But that was considered “unduly lenient” on appeal.
Three of the affected families pleaded for leniency in updated statements handed into court today, with one saying “he’s already five and a half years into a life sentence”.
The three-judge panel arrived at a new sentence of five years in jail but decided to suspend a further 12 months after taking their attitudes into consideration, meaning his original sentence has effectively been doubled.
Our Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney reports:
