A FORMER Kerry footballer involved in a head-on collision said in a victim impact statement that he felt like he had been “tortured” after the car he was in was hit by a car traveling on the wrong side of the road in Abbeyfeale in 2021. .

Michael Harty, 22, of Lisheen Park, Patrickswell, was convicted of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.

Seán O’Leary, then 22, said in a statement that he and his girlfriend Emma O’Connor were heading home to Killarney from Thurles after attending the Munster championship game.

He said he had just turned 22, a few months before the day of the crash on July 12, 2021, and had never felt so fit, happy and healthy in his life. Mr O’Leary said he had made it into the Kerry senior football panel after years of intense training and was really excited to be able to prepare for the Munster final with the team.

“But as we approached the Kerry border from Limerick my life turned upside down. The image of seeing the car driving on our side of the road pass the car on the other side of the bend is the last thing I remember before the collision. The image was seared into my mind, Mr. O’Leary wrote, as Mr. O’Leary lost consciousness; A picture of fear that will never leave me.

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He can remember waking up to a ringing noise and not knowing where he was or what had happened.

“It was pitch black. The pain I started feeling in my body was literally indescribable. My legs were in absolute pain and it felt like they were screaming at me. I felt like I was being tortured because I couldn’t move and the pain was coming from every part of my body, especially my legs and chest. Every minute for an hour.” and the only thing that eased the pain was when I lost consciousness.

“I started to fear that I might be paralyzed. All feeling in my toes disappeared. I felt my body shut down. I could see the white bone of my right femur sticking out through my Kerry GAA tracksuit trousers. Hoping I was dreaming, I pressed my hand down to touch the bone.

“I put my hand around it and when I realized it was my bone, I wanted to give up.”

Mr O’Leary later learned firefighters who pulled him from the car took the ambulance to Tralee Hospital so paramedics could work on him. He needed eight units of blood.

He outlines his long recovery: two weeks in hospital with only two visits due to Covid restrictions, being discharged in a wheelchair and losing his independence.

“I started developing PTSD from the car accident. “I was awake every night, afraid of the dark, images of the night stuck in my head,” said Mr. O’Leary, constantly asking “why me?” he thought.

He remembered the day he was first told he could stand up.

“For the first time in months, I had something to look forward to. All those hopes were shattered the moment I stood up and saw the reactions of the physical and occupational therapists.

“I was completely unbalanced because one leg was shorter than the other. “I knew then that I would have to undergo surgery again and that I would permanently lose 2.5 cm of my height.”

Mr O’Leary had to learn to walk again, switch to zimmer exercise and then learn to use crutches.

Before the accident, he said he was on the verge of starting his journey to realize his dreams by playing with Kerry.

“However, around 11pm on July 10, 2021, my life was turned upside down due to Mr. Harty’s reckless behavior and driving. At that moment, my dreams were also destroyed. Almost 12 months later, I sat in Croke Park watching my good friends lift the Sam Maguire Cup, while I sat injured, crying in the stands, wondering what could have been.

Mr O’Leary thanked his girlfriend Emma O’Connor, his parents, family, friends, the fire brigade, doctors, nurses, counsellors, counsellors, paramedics, physiotherapists, gardai, Irish people who “were with me every step of this nightmare”. Blood Transfusion Service.