GAA footballer involved in hit-and-run handed suspended sentence

An Antrim gaelic footballer has been given a nine-month suspended prison sentence after a woman suffered serious injuries in a 'hit-and-run' incident.

Kavan Keenan was driving a van when it struck Fiona McGill, a mother of two, as she walked along the Glenravel Road in Martinstown, Co Antrim in October 2024.

The victim, who was in court for the sentencing hearing, had to be treated at the major trauma unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for her injuries and her rehabilitation is ongoing.

The Judge at Antrim Crown Court described how she has endured "darks days and nights" since she was knocked down beside the driveway to her home.

Keenan drove on and initially denied that he was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident.

But he changed his plea to guilty at the end of last year, a month before he was due to go on trial.

The 27-year-old from Millfield in Ballymena admitted injuring the woman by careless driving and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

He also admitted driving a van without insurance and failing to report an accident.

The footballer's father had also originally claimed that he was driving the van at the time.

The court heard how the van Keenan was driving left the scene of the collision but police enquiries led them to the Keenan family home in Ballymena.

The damaged van was found parked at the back of the house.

A sentencing hearing at Antrim Crown Court on Friday heard that McGill was walking back to her home just before 21:00 GMT after a social evening at a nearby pub.

She was wearing a red coat and the road was well lit, and the court was told by the prosecution that there was "ample room" for a vehicle to pass the pedestrian safely.

McGill had reached the driveway to her home when she was struck but she did not know what struck her.

She felt "a bang" and was knocked to the ground and couldn't get up. The alarm was raised and as a brother and sister of the victim travelled to the scene, they noticed a damaged van parked along another nearby road.

They stopped and asked the young man at the van for his name and he told them he was Joe Keenan.

McGill's brother challenged him saying "you hit someone and left the scene".

Following this, an older man who had arrived alongside the van, asked the McGill's brother: "Who did he hit?".

Meanwhile, the court heard, Keenan asked the McGill's brother: "What are you staring at me for?".

During a subsequent police interview, Keenan claimed he was approached by a man who was "verbally abusive", a prosecutor told the court.

Keenan also insisted that he didn't realise that the van he was driving had hit a person.

Judge Peter Irvine addressed the court about the physical and psychological impact of the accident on McGill and said "her life has changed dramatically".

He said she has suffered "many dark days and nights" and the impact has also been felt by her two young boys who were aged six and 14 at the time.

Relatives had to take care of the young boys while their mother was receiving treatment and recovering from her ordeal.

The judge said there were a number of aggravating factors in the case against Keenan, including his failure to identify himself as the driver at the time.

He outlined how he had received a "large number" of character references on behalf of Keenan from "various sections of the community" including religious figures, the GAA, other sporting organisations, former teachers, relatives and friends.

He said "a common theme" was Keenan's remorse and he also highlighted the defendant's contribution to his community, good character, no previous convictions, and no issues with alcohol or drugs

The judge sentenced Keenan to nine months imprisonment with three concurrent sentences of three months each.

However, he suspended all the prison terms after considering the "exceptional circumstances" in the case.