A man has been jailed for four years after pleading guilty to drunk driving and dangerous driving causing the deaths of two of his college friends in Co Limerick.Patrick Carroll (22), of Drinagh, Fivealley, Birr, Co Offaly, was 19 when he crashed his car into a wall off the N69 Limerick to Tralee road on February 20th, 2024.Darragh Dullea (21), of Clonakilty, Co Cork, and Cillian Kirwan (19), from Pilltown, Co Kilkenny, were killed in the crash, which Carroll and a third passenger survived. A sentencing hearing at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court heard that Carroll told gardaí he was “truly sorry” the men had died in the collision. Carroll and his three passengers were attending the Salesian Agricultural College in Pallaskenry, studying for higher certificates in agricultural mechanisation, at the time.Garda Insp Padraig Sutton told the court the four students attended a college earlier in the day. After a lecture, Carroll, carrying two of the three passengers, drove to De Bucket pub and, on the way back to Pallaskenry, met Kirwan at The Dromore Inn, Kildimo.Shortly after 7pm, as the four friends left for home in Carroll’s car, the vehicle crossed to the other side of the road and crashed into a wall at Ballyengland near Askeaton.Sutton said Dullea and Kirwan died instantly. Carroll and the other passenger were brought by ambulance to hospital and treated for non life-threatening injuries.Prosecuting barrister Lily Buckley, instructed by State Solicitor for Co Limerick Brendan Gill, told the court a blood test showed Carroll was almost three times over the legal limit.Two women who came upon the collision described seeing Carroll crying and asking Dullea and Kirwan to “wake up”.“I made a terrible mistake that day and will live with the shame of this for the rest of my life,” Carroll told gardaí. In a victim impact statement, Kirwan’s mother, Sinéad Molloy, said her son’s death had broken her heart. She said she hoped Cillian had not suffered.“We cannot find the strength to forgive (Carroll),” she said.Dullea’s family described him as their pride and joy and said his death had left them heartbroken.Defence counsel Brian McInerney said his client remained deeply remorseful. “He accepts responsibility for his actions and the hurt that has been and will continue to be felt by the families of the deceased.”He said Carroll’s guilty pleas and full co-operation with the Garda investigation were important mitigation factors.Judge Simon McAleese extended his sympathies to the families of the deceased and said Carroll’s actions had caused “a blizzard of tragic consequences” for all involved in what was “an appalling and senseless tragedy”.He said he took Carroll’s guilty plea, remorse and age at the time, as well as the absence of prior convictions and a positive probation report, into account when sentencing him. He jailed Carroll for four years and banned him from driving for eight years.