Uninsured Longford drunk driver did u-turn

A man who did a complete u-turn on the road when he saw a garda checkpoint had a driving disqualification imposed on him when he appeared before Longford District Court.

Michael Reilly (69), 1 Fairgreen, Longford was charged with drink driving, no insurance, and failure to produce insurance at Shannon Park, Edgeworthstown on April 17 last.
Sergeant Enda Daly said gardai were operating a checkpoint at Ballymahon Road in Edgeworthstown when they saw a car do a complete u-turn on the road.

Gardai activated their blue lights and followed the car which eventually came to a stop. When they spoke to the driver his “eyes were glazed, his speech was slurred and there was a strong smell of alcohol,” Sgt Daly said.

A breath sample from the defendant gave a concentration reading of 60 micrograms of alcohol per 100 mls of breath.
Defence solicitor Frank Gearty said the defendant is a “superb equine man”.
“He is more comfortable on a horse than a car,” he said.

The defendant was helping a woman out by driving her. They called on a social visit to a house, where the defendant drank some cans of alcohol.
Mr Gearty said the defendant did have an insurance policy in place, but not to cover the car he was driving.

“He wouldn’t normally drink and drive. This was an absolutely abnormal situation,” Mr Gearty added.
Judge John Brennan said he did not believe such an incident would happen again, and it was a “one-off incident”.

A two-year driving disqualification was imposed, which was postponed until February 1, 2023, along with fines totaling €200.