Judge Mary Devins adjourned a case for consideration, following claims by a defendant that a garda refused to call his solicitor when he asked for him after the defendant was arrested for drink driving and dangerous driving. Mr Damien Walsh, High Street, Kilkelly, made the claim while contesting the case against him in Castlebar District Court. In his evidence to the court, Walsh said that he asked the member in charge in Claremorris Garda Station, Garda Liam Hynes, to call his solicitor and the garda picked up the phone asked him who to call, when Walsh told him it was John O’Dwyer, Garda Hynes hung up the phone and said “that man will be asleep by now.”
Mr Walsh had been arrested on October 14, 2011 on the N17 following the reporting of a white van being driven down the wrong side of the road heading from the Sligo side towards Claremorris. The court heard evidence from Mr Dermot Clancy, who said that he had to swerve to avoid a van coming head on in his lane, with its full headlights on, as he drove in the Sligo direction near Kilkelly on the N17. He told the court that he and two cars behind him had to swerve on to the wrong side to avoid being hit by the van. He said that he then pulled over and rang the Gardai.
Garda Joe Newell told the court that at 8.10pm on Friday October 14 he got a report of a van being driven in the wrong lane on the N17. He spotted a van pulled in on the hard shoulder shortly later and the driver had his head in his hands. As he turned around to go to the van, the van pulled out on to the road without signalling or its lights on. He followed the van and signalled to get it to pull over, which it did without signalling again. After speaking to the driver he arrested him and brought him to Claremorris Garda Station where the driver gave a blood sample, which when analysed gave a reading of 181mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
Garda Liam Hynes gave evidence as he was the member in charge on the night, and he read out from the custody record that Mr Walsh requested his own doctor, whom he tried to contact but failed to do from the landline number supplied. He also recorded in the custody record that Mr Walsh asked for a call to be made to a friend of his which was done and Mr Walsh spoke to him.
Mr O’Dwyer asked Garda Hynes if his client made a request to speak to a solicitor, which Garda Hynes said he did not and if Walsh had he would have made every effort to make sure that happened. Mr O’Dwyer put it to Garda Hynes that his client did ask him and the garda picked up the phone and went to ring the solicitor, but when he was told the name of the solicitor he put back down the phone. This was denied by Garda Hynes.
Under cross examination from Supt Joe Doherty, Mr Walsh admitted to the court that he had been drinking that night and had drunk half a bottle of vodka. Supt Doherty put it to Walsh that he did not remember what had happened that night, because he was so drunk and he had a drinking problem.
Judge Mary Devins told the court, “someone has lied to the court. I’ve to decide who to believe, a sober garda or a self admitted alcoholic who had drunk half a bottle of vodka.” Judge Devins adjourned the case for consideration until July 16.
