Relative of Carrickmines fire victims in high speed chase with gardaí

A man who relapsed into heroin abuse after his family died in the Carrickmines halting site fire in Dublin was involved in a high-speed chase with gardaí, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.

Patrick Connors (46) drove a car at speeds in excess of 160km/h along the wrong side of a busy road and the wrong way around a roundabout. He did a U-turn at speed, and drove at over 100km/h on a road with a speed limit of 50km/h, the court was told.

At one point he drove through a red light and went into the rear of a taxi that was turning at the junction.

Connors, of Coolevin, Ballybrack, Dublin, pleaded guilty to endangerment creating a substantial risk of death or serious harm to another at Swords Road, Dublin, on September 19th last.

He also admitted having possession of stolen laptops and jewellery, and having a screwdriver with the intention that it would be used in the course of a theft. The stolen goods, the screwdriver and a “jemmy” bar were found in the car when the chase finally ended and gardaí­ arrested Connors.

Garda Keith Cassidy told Fiona McGowan, prosecuting, that the stolen items had been taken during a burglary in Northern Ireland earlier that morning.

Connors has 89 previous convictions including dangerous driving, burglary, possession of stolen property, theft, assault and breach of a barring order. He has 56 convictions for summary road traffic offences.

Ronan Prendergast, defending, said his client had been using heroin in the past but had become clean. He relapsed after relatives lost their lives in the fire at the temporary halting site in Carrickmines. His client had been living in a car.

Judge Patricia Ryan said it was the second driving case she had dealt with this week involving a man who was related to the family in Carrickmines and who was living in his car.

She remanded Connors in custody for sentence in April, and ordered a report from the Probation Service.