Dangerous driver in Longford on wrong side of road when he met Garda patrol car

A driver who was travelling at high speed, overtaking a line of vehicles, when he met a patrol car head on has been directed to complete 150 hours of community service and been disqualified for four years.

Neil O'Boyle (28) of Rathroeen, Ballina, Mayo was before the Longford District Court on five charges.
Three related to an incident in Longford, while two were from Roscommon.

Mr O'Boyle entered a guilty plea to charges of giving a false name when Garda Edward Flanagan made a lawful demand, driving without insurance and engaging in dangerous driving at Moneylagan, Longford .

At a previous hearing, Sergeant Enda Daly said on October 8, 2024 at 11:55am Longford Garda Station received a call regarding a speeding motorist on the Strokestown to Longford road.
A patrol car was dispatched to the N4 at Aughadeignan, Longford, where they encountered the blue Audi being driven by Mr O'Boyle.

Officers estimated the defendant was driving in the region of 180kph in a 100 zone.
The defendant was stopped and arrested for dangerous driving, and it transpired he had no insurance.
Mr O'Boyle had only recently been allowed to drive as he received a two year road ban at Castlebar Circuit Court in 2022 when he was disqualified for drink driving.

The court heard the defendant is a heavy machinery operator who works odd days in Dublin on groundworks for construction projects.

Last Tuesday, Ms Mimnagh said her client accepted his driving was dangerous at the time, but she said her client who had been assessed by the Probation Serves was deemed to be at a low risk of reoffending.
The legal representative stated Mr O'Boyle had suffered a bereavement of a close family member prior to his detection for this offence and the untimely death had a profound impact.

"He lost direction in life. His niece is here and from a family point of view he has had a lot of support," she added.
Ms Mimnagh said Mr O'Boyle had applied for the Pro Social driving course and Judge Bernadette Owens said she wanted to be certain he had completed it.
Judge Owens described it as a 'very serious incident'.
"He was driving on the wrong side of the road and when the Gardaí assessed what speed he was doing they believed he was pushing 180kph," she added.

She adjourned the case until June 17 for finalisation and for confirmation and she indicated if the driving course is completed she will place him on a probation bond.