A Dublin father-of-two who caused the death of his best friend when he smashed a taxi into a pole while drink driving has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Several witnesses told gardaí they saw Joseph Robinson (25) get out of the wreck and walk away, leaving his friend on the ground.

The court heard that the deceased, father-of-two Alex Doyle (25), suffered fatal head injuries and a severed arm when he was flung from the front passenger seat.

Robinson, of Cuffe Street, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Doyle at Mount Brown, Old Kilmainham on June 8, 2014.

He also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, criminal damage, drink driving and driving with no license or insurance at Mount Brown and Tyrconnell Road on the same date.

Judge Martin Nolan said it was a “particularly sad case”. He said the outcome was obviously a tragedy for the Doyle family, but also to some degree a tragedy for Robinson as the two men had been friends.

Judge Nolan said Robinson had shown a “total disregard for the law of the country and the norms of society” by driving in a dangerous way, at speed, while drunk, at a time when he had been disqualified from driving.

He pointed out that Robinson had a long history of criminal offending, with 58 previous convictions, including drugs offences and drink driving.

Judge Nolan accepted that Robinson was genuinely remorseful and said that as he is comparatively young, the court would hope for rehabilitation and change.

“But it's more of a hope than an expectation,” he added.

Garda David O’Hanlon told James Dwyer BL, prosecuting, that it was unclear how Robinson had possession of the cab.

He said Robinson had been disqualified from driving at the time and had been over twice the alcohol limit.

The garda said one motorist described how the taxi “disintegrated” before it came to a stop 30 feet away from the crash site.

This witness followed Robinson, who was bleeding from his head, to near the St James’s Hospital entrance and pointed him out to gardai when they arrived.

Robinson initially denied he had been driving the car but later broke down and made full admissions during interview.

He said he had been “on a mad one” and had lost control while talking to his friend.

Gda O’Hanlon agreed with Michael Bowman SC, defending, that Robinson had stated: “It should have been me.”

The deceased’s uncle, James Doyle, said in his victim impact statement that he and his family had been “in shock at the suddenness” of his nephew’s death.

He described their immense personal loss at being denied the chance to say goodbye.

Mr Doyle also attacked the “gutter press” for composing “sensationalist and untrue headlines” just hours after his nephew had died.

He said his family did not seek vengeance or retribution from a sentence, just compassion.

He agreed with Mr Bowman that he had mentioned the family’s wish for Robinson to attend the National Remedial Hospital and work with victims of traffic accidents as part of his sentence.

Mr Bowman submitted to Judge Martin Nolan that from his client’s past convictions, this was a “tragedy waiting to happen.”

Judge Nolan also disqualified Robinson from driving for seven years and backdated the sentence to June 8, 2014.