udge Mary Devins this week adjourned a case for her consideration until July 16 in what she described as “I think this is the first case a dog is the main witness.” Judge Devins this week heard a drink driving case brought against Joe McNamara, Burrish, Irishtown who was found in a Jeep in a ditch on October 7 2012 at Lugalisheen South, Ballindine.
The court heard from Ms Amona Elder, of Lugalisheen South, Ballindine, who told the court that at 5.30am on October 7, 2012 she was woken by her puppy which was barking downstairs in her house. She was toilet training the puppy and assumed it wanted to go out, but when she let the dog out it ran straight over to a fence in the garden and started barking. When she went over to look she saw a Jeep, tipped sideways into a ditch with its engine still running. She told the court she went over to the jeep and found a man inside, she checked his pulse which was fine and turned off the engine, there was a strong smell of alcohol in the Jeep. She said she went back inside and rang the gardai at around 5.40am or 5.45am and the gardai arrived on the scene very promptly. Ms Elder said that she tried to wake the man, but was unable to do so. Under cross examination from Evan O’Dwyer solicitor for McNamara, Ms Elder was asked if she was sure of the time frame she gave in her statement and she replied that she was. She was also asked to confirm that she did not herself hear the crash or see anyone driving the Jeep, which she confirmed that she did not.
Giving his evidence, Garda Conor McHale told the court that he arrived at the scene of the incident at around 6.25am, where he spoke to Ms Elder. He said he went to the Jeep and there was a strong smell of alcohol from it, and he tried to wake the driver, which he did eventually did after a number of attempts. Garda McHale said he asked the driver his name, which he gave as Joe McNamara and asked if he knew where he was, to which he replied yes. He then said he asked the driver whether he was driving, to which the driver said he had been, but when he asked him if he had been drinking, McNamara said “I better not say anymore.” At 6.30pm Garda McHale arrested McNamara on suspicion of drink driving, and they arrived in Claremorris Garda Station at 6.45am. At 7.25am a blood sample was taken which returned a reading of 248mlgs per 100ml of blood.
Evan O’Dwyer solicitor for McNamara told the court he was not going to go into evidence as he did not have a client in court. But said he would be raising a number of issues, the first of which was the differences in the times given by both of the State’s witness as to the time that the call was made to the Garda and the time they got there, as Ms Elder remembers it being earlier than the Garda witness. He also raised the point that the no-one knew when the accident happened, therefore no-one gave evidence of what time Mr McNamara was driving at, and the law says that a sample of blood or urine must be taken within three hours of driving, and while the State will say that Ms Elder was woken by her dog who heard the accident, Ms Elder in her evidence said that she did not hear it herself.
Judge Devins adjourned the case to July 16 saying, “I think this is the first case a dog is the main witness.” She also said there were some other high court cases on she wanted to consider while she made her decision.
