A man who has an abysmal driving record for his young years has been given a suspended sentence for his part in a late night chase.
Judge Seamus Hughes said the two month sentence, suspended for three years, was the only way he could bring home to Kieran Maguire, Clonmullen, Edenderry, that he will go to jail if he offends again.
On October 1 at 4am gardaí saw him speeding in his Volkswagon Bora on the Tullamore Road.
He failed to stop, even when they activated lights and sirens and he continued onto the N52, where he collided with a road barrier and drove onto the grass. He then tried to drive on further but his car broke down.
When arrested he admitted “I was in the wrong completely” and returned a breath alcohol reading of 76mg/100ml.
At the time he had just got his licence back nearly 18 months into a two year ban for being drunk in charge of a vehicle.
Mr John Quinn said his client thought he could evade gardaí but when stopped was entirely cooperative.
He accepted that Maguire’s driving record was “abysmal for such tender years” and pointed out that the 24-year-old is not working.
Judge Hughes disqualified him for four years for drink driving, one year longer than the mandatory three years for his alcohol level, and imposed a similar disqualification for dangerous driving.
He also fined him €750 and warned him that he would be very foolish to seek to have his driving licence restored early a second time.
