Six-year driving ban for intoxicated Mayo hit-and-run driver

AN intoxicated driver who attempted to leave the scene of an accident has been banned from driving for six years.

Niall Cawley, Gortnaclosser, Clogher, Westport, pleaded guilty at Castlebar District Court to dangerous driving, drink driving and hit and run on February 10, 2024.

The defendant was involved in a collision with another vehicle at The Three Bridges in Islandeady on the night in question around 10 p.m., but left the scene.

However, not far from the scene the van he was driving suffered a tyre burst which forced him to stop at Leitir, Islandeady, where the driver of the other car caught up with him.

Inspector Thomasina McHale told the court that the defendant did stop following the collision but left when Kenneth Hyland, the driver of the other vehicle, went to his car to retrieve his phone.

Mr. Hyland pursued the van which eventually came to a stop at Leitir where it remained until gardaí arrived.

Inspector McHale said when gardaí arrived at the scene the front tyre of the van was burst and Cawley was arrested for drink driving.

He subsequently provided a specimen of breath which gave a concentration of 87 micrograms of alcohol per 100mls of breath.

The court heard the defendant had seven previous convictions between 2008 and 2014, including two for drink driving, while he had also been banned previously from driving for six years.

Mr. Mark Ryan, counsel for Cawley, said his client accepts he has a dependency on alcohol which was central to the incidents surrounding his previous convictions.

He said his client is in full time employment in construction.

The defendant had got the better of his alcohol problems in 2013 but relapsed in December 2023.

The court heard that Cawley is extremely apologetic to Mr. Hyland and his brother who was with him on the night and had €2,000 in compensation for him.

Judge Murphy was informed that only material damage was caused to the vehicle, which was covered by insurance, and there were no serious injuries.

However, she expressed concern regarding Cawley’s issues with alcohol, particularly in relation to two previous convictions for drink driving and indicated that she would like to hear from the probation services.

A six-year driving ban and a fine of €350 was imposed on the drink driving charge while sentencing was adjourned to June 26 in respect of the other charges to allow for preparation of a probation report.

* Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.