A man who collided into the rear of a car when he was intoxicated was before Ballina District Court on Tuesday for a probation report.
At a previous court sitting it was outlined that on the afternoon of January 25 2012, Paddy Donnelly, 20 Bunree Road, Ballina, hit a car on James Connolly Street, Ballina. The defendant spoke with the driver of the car, but when the driver said that the gardaí were being called Donnelly threw his keys at the other driver and left the scene.
Gardaí were called to Abbey Street as an intoxicated man had fallen. This man was the defendant who had a cut on his nose and a wound on his face. He admitted to gardaí that he had been driving and crashed into the car.
He was brought to Mayo General Hospital. Donnelly allowed a blood sample to be taken. This showed 287mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
Donnelly has 16 previous convictions, the most recent being in 1999.
The 62-year-old worked as a painter and decorator.
Judge Mary Devins said that she could not ignore 16 previous convictions, with the majority of them being for drink driving.
Donnelly was convicted and fined €1,000 and disqualified from driving for three years. The case was adjourned to this week’s court sitting for a probation report.
The court heard from his solicitor Michael Bohan that the defendant has since sold his van but instead of using the money towards paying the fine, which has not been paid, he “indulged” in a long drinking binge. Mr Bohan said that Donnelly has not drank in two months and is attending the addiction services in Ballina.
Judge Devins said that she would place the defendant under probation for a year and adjourned the case to July 8 2014 for an updated probation report. The judge said that proof that the fine has been paid will also need to be before court that day.
