Woman jailed for more than two years for killing partner in crash

“May you rot, you b*tch,” hissed Linda Costin, sister of the late Dylan Costin, as the woman responsible for her brother’s death was led away from Cavan Circuit Court last week. Mr Costin (24) died after being “ejected” from a car driven by his former partner, Eve Cullen, when it veered into the path of an oncoming articulated lorry early last year.

Cullen, heavily impaired by cannabis at the time, told gardaí she could recall nothing from the hours before the crash. Her 04 registered Audi A2 was left “substantially demolished” after the high-impact crash on the N3 Cavan Town bypass at Drumcrave on March 11, 2024, with dash-cam footage from the cab of the Renault truck showing Cullen’s car drifting across the centre line on a sweeping left-hand bend as it travelled northbound toward Belturbet. Despite the lorry driver’s best and last-ditch efforts, swerving right and into the barriers on the opposite side, the collision was unavoidable.

On Monday last, Cullen spent her 28th birthday behind bars at Dochas women’s prison, days into a two-year and four-month sentence for dangerous driving causing Mr Costin’s death.

Inside the courtroom, a series of emotional victim impact statemen ts laid bare the devastation inflicted on Mr Costin’s family.

Mother’s grief

Dylan’s mother, Una, described a life shattered beyond repair.

Her impact statement was read by investigating garda, Sergeant Damien Carney. Losing her only son, she said, has “broken my heart in so many ways”. There is no day she does not think about him - what he might be doing, or become.

“Dylan had so much life left in him to live. He wasn’t just my handsome, loving son, he was also my best friend. He was a very caring, kind, helpful lad that would help anyone.”

The most painful moments come when Mr Costin’s young nephew, James, asks why his uncle no longer comes to see him. “It’s impossible to explain,” she said. Mr Costin had adored the little boy. Now she would never see her son get married or have children of his own - dreams he often “talked about”.

The tragedy has created deep family strain and financial hardship, and Mr Costin’s mother said she still had never received an apology.

“Dylan will never be forgotten and will always be remembered and missed and loved. I will never see my son again over something that should never have happened. My heart is broken and can’t be fixed.”

Sister’s anguish

For Dylan’s sister, Linda, standing in court to deliver a victim impact statement was something she never imagined she would have to do. Her sister Mary meanwhile held a framed photo of their brother at the rear of the courtroom.

Mr Costin was the only boy among three girls - a joker, a helper, and a young man with a “heart of gold” - just two weeks shy of his 25th birthday.

“He was always smiling, even through his problems. He didn’t have a bad bone in his body, and to be where he is now, has our hearts absolutely shattered.”

Instead of visiting him at home, she said her family now stands at a graveside, speaking to a headstone and receiving only “silence” in return. “That’s what kills us most.”

Mr Costin’s sister Mary had spoken to him just hours before he died; when he was excited about starting a new job.

Her brother, Linda said, only ever wanted the “simplest” things in life. “He wanted a good job. He wanted to get married, to settle down, to have children. That’s all he wanted, and now all of that has been ripped from him. Not only his life, but his future, and at 24 years of age. He will never be a husband, a father, have kids, never have grandkids. That has all been ripped from him. And our brother ripped from us.”

The loss has scarred their family said Linda, who was pregnant with her first child when Mr Costin died. On the day he died, she was due to attend her anomaly scan. Instead of joy, she received a phone call that morning saying her brother had been killed. The shock left her consumed by grief.

Seeing Dylan’s body in the mortuary is an image that has never left her.

“The fear of God in his eyes. No one should have to see their loved one like that.”

Linda told the court she now suffers from severe PTSD and anxiety, especially around cars and traffic. She panics crossing roads, and she endures nightmares of her brother dying again and again.

Her son, now 16 months old, Linda said will “never meet his uncle” - a reality that “breaks my heart the most”.

Despite therapy, counselling, and other supports, Linda said the pain of loss remains unrelenting. Their mother “will never be the same again”.

Each year, as March approaches, the family relive the trauma: first the anniversary of his death, then his birthday only two weeks later. Instead of celebrations, they release balloons at his graveside.

“Our family will never be the same again.”

Apology

Cullen was represented in court by Garnet Orange SC, instructed by Sara Brennan BL and Eleanor Kelly Solicitors. Conscious of the Costin family’s grief, Mr Orange read a letter written by Cullen in which she began by stating that “no apology I offer can make up” for their loss.

“There are no words that can accurately express the depth of my sadness or the regret I feel for the irreversible harm my actions caused,” Cullen wrote. “I take full responsibility for the decisions I made that night, including the choice to drive when I should not have. I will live with the consequences of that decision for the rest of my life.”

She continued by expressing profound sorrow for the loss of the man she loved. “I am devastated by the loss of the future we had started to build together. We had fallen in love, we were living together, and we were planning a life filled with shared goals and dreams. Every day, I grieve the life we will never have - a marriage, a family, and growing old together. Dylan’s kindness, his laughter, and the way he brightened the world with an open heart are things I will cherish forever. Through my actions, the world has lost someone truly exceptional.”

Addressing Dylan’s family directly, Cullen wrote: “I took someone irreplaceable from you. I am fully aware of the pain I have caused. An apology will never be enough.”

She also extended her apologies to the first responders, the lorry driver involved, and the emergency staff at Cavan General Hospital. “I do not remember your faces, but I will never forget your kindness.”

Cullen concluded by describing how her life has changed since the crash. Before the accident, she wrote how she was working full-time as a youth coordinator, living independently, proud of her degree, and “becoming the person I wanted to be”. Since then however she has lost that version of herself, no longer works, lives with her parents, relies on illness benefits, and struggles daily with mental health difficulties.

“My days are filled with grief, shame, and guilt. I have never known a deeper regret.”

She ended by saying she is committed to rebuilding her life in a way that honours Mr Costin. “I will carry this for the rest of my life.”

Mr Orange noted after the letter was read that his client’s apology was “not something that’s been offered strategically. It’s just something that is profound and genuine”.

Evidence

Cullen pleaded guilty to the offences before the court back in June 2025.

Frank Martin for the prosecution, instructed by State Solicitor Fiona Baxter, said that after Cullen was cut from the crashed car she provided a blood sample at Cavan General, which tested positive for cannabis (8.2ng where the legal limit is 5) but also alprazolam (Xanax). She later provided an interview by arrangement at Cavan Garda Station, making admissions “as best as she could”.

“Her last memory was earlier in the evening,” said Mr Martin.

Cullen, who was present in court with her father, had no previous convictions at the time.

Mr Orange said his client had, in the wake of Mr Costin’s death, quit her job in Clones as the road to work leads past where the fatal collision occurred.

Letters were handed into the judge, from Cullen’s GP and her former employer - Youth Work Ireland Cavan-Monaghan. A probation report was also available which noted that at no time did Cullen attempt to “evade responsibility”.

It recorded that Cullen has been abusing cannabis since her mid teens to ease her to sleep, and treated the use of benzodiazepines in much the same way.

Sentence

Judge Aylmer placed the offending in the mid-range meriting five years’ imprisonment before mitigation, reducing that to three years and four months with 12 months suspended on Cullen entering a 12 months bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour post release.

She also received a concurrent four-month sentence for driving under the influence of cannabis and was disqualified from driving for four years.

“It is the courts’ view that to suspend the sentence in its entirety is not possible, where the offence is so serious,” said the judge.

Cullen hugged her father at the rear of the courtroom before being led away by prison staff in handcuffs.