The brother of Boyzone star and One Show presenter Ronan Keating was tragically killed in July 2023, and now the singer has slammed the sentencing of the man who killed him
Ronan Keating has declared the justice system is “broken” after his brother’s killer walked free.
Ciaran Keating, the Boyzone star’s older brother, was tragically killed in a fatal road crash in Mayo, Ireland in July 2023. Ciaran was driving to his son’s football match but suffered fatal injuries in the collision.
Ronan was left heartbroken and helped carry the coffin at his brother’s funeral – Ciaran’s wife Annmarie was unable to attend due to issues relating to the crash. Keating, who now presents The One Show, has taken to social media to vent his frustration as the man involved in the crash has avoided prison.
Dean Harte had been charged with careless driving causing death and serious injury, and pleaded guilty. However, he has been given a 17-month prison sentence suspended for two years, and a driving ban for two years.
Ronan has blasted the decision in a statement on Instagram. He wrote: “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 happened.
“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.”
He revealed that, tragically, his family will “never find peace” as a result of the decision. He went on: “Shame on Dean Harte but more-so shame on everyone involved in this process that contributed to the heartbreaking outcome of the family today. The lord himself knows the injustice that was served and the Keating family will never find peace.”
He added: “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.”
Keating has opened up about getting therapy to help deal with the grief and trauma relating to his brother’s death. He said: “I get my weekly session, I go to a therapist, and what my therapist does is give me the tools to go away and try to understand who I am, and what I’ve been through,’ he explained.
‘Whether it’s trauma like losing my brother, or it’s adoration and all of a sudden that adoration is gone, how to deal with that – all these things, the highs and the lows. Somebody has to teach you how to deal with these things.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
