A man who claimed a lack of grit on the road led to his dangerous driving has been fined €250 for the offence.
Paul Mason of Slanemore, Mullingar was drunk when he was stopped driving dangerously by Garda Gareth O’Brien on Christmas Eve last year.
The traffic garda was on patrol on the Millmount Road at 12.09am when he saw Mason come down a hill and take the roundabout at speed on the wrong side.
He then went under the railway bridge at speed. The weather had been bad at the time.
When Ms Patricia Cronin asked if there had been a shortage of grit at the time and that part of the road may not have been gritted, the garda said he was aware there was a shortage countrywide at the time. He couldn’t recall if the roundabout had been gritted, but he assumed that it was.
When breath-tested, Mason had 37mg alcohol/100ml breath.
Ms Cronin said her client, a father of four, accepted his driving was dangerous and he had no excuse for it.
Judge John Lindsay disqualified him for one year for drink driving and fined him €50, then fined him €250 for dangerous driving with no further disqualification.
A man who stole beer from a taxi-driver’s car has been given a chance to make a charity donation to avoid a criminal conviction.
David Gannon of Clonard, Enfield was in Kinnegad on February 28 when he took eight cans valued at €18 from the taxi parked in Scanlon’s car park.
The driver was only gone for a few minutes when the theft took place.
Gannon, who is a pharmaceutical technician currently doing a masters, had just come out of the pub and saw the car window down.
He was very, very apologetic the court heard. He has a previous conviction for possession of drugs in 2005.
Judge Lindsay gave him two weeks to make the donation or he will be convicted and fined €250.
