Hit-and-run investigation not expected to result in arrests

A GARDA investigation into the death of a 31-year-old man killed in a hit-and-run incident in Tallaght five years ago is not expected to result in criminal proceedings, an inquest has heard, reports Seán McCárthaigh.

Stephen Lynch, a father of three from the Glenshane estate in Tallaght, suffered fatal injuries after being struck by a vehicle at Brookview Close on April 13, 2017.

At the time, gardaí believed the victim was deliberately run over by the driver of a Ford Focus which was later found abandoned a short distance away.

Gardaí understand that Mr Lynch became involved in an altercation with the occupants of the vehicle before the fatal incident after he had earlier asked the driver of the car to slow down because of children playing in the area.

At a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Thursday, Superintendent Ian Lackey said the investigation by gardaí into Mr Lynch’s death was completed.

Supt Lackey said an independent review of the investigation, which is being overseen by an Assistant Garda Commissioner, is also near completion.

However, Supt Lackey told the coroner, Cróna Gallagher, that the review was not expected to add anything that would further the investigation.

He said gardaí would be in a position in a number of months to allow the full inquest into Mr Lynch’s death to proceed “unless some other evidence comes to light which is unlikely.”

Supt Lackey said the deceased’s relatives had been updated on the progress of the investigation on a regular basis.

Dr Gallagher noted the inquest into Mr Lynch’s death was first opened in November 2017 and had been adjourned on a number of occasions over the intervening years.

She also offered condolences to Mr Lynch’s family, who were not present in court, on hearing that the victim’s father, Danny Lynch, had died suddenly in March.

Dr Gallagher granted an application for a further short adjournment of the inquest and listed the case for October 20 when a date is expected to be fixed for the full hearing of the circumstances of Mr Lynch’s death.

Since his death, Mr Lynch’s family have made several public appeals for people to help to identify his killer as well as any other occupant in the car.

On RTÉ’s Crimecall programme last year, his eldest son, Craig, said his father’s death had affected the family’s lives “in the worst way possible.”

“Everyday it’s killing us,” he added.

The victim’s mother, Vera Donovan, has vowed to continue to return to the area where her son was killed to persuade witnesses to come forward.

In an interview she gave last year, Ms Donovan stated: “It’s important to remind people what we are still going through. We can’t move on because we don’t have closure.”

Last month, Ms Donovan described the people involved in her son’s death as a “pack of monsters” and expressed a wish that they would “reap what they sow.”

In a social media post, Ms Donovan said she would never give up and hoped her family would one day get justice for her son.