Judge Neilan thanked a commanding officer for attending court with a man who has pleaded guilty to criminal damage charges.
Mr Darren Farrell of Castlerea, Moydow, Longford had €1,100 in court as compensation for a victim whose car dashboard he damaged at Ballynacargy on August 9 of this year.
He faces a further road traffic charge and details of both cases will be finalised on March 19 when Gardaí establish the total amount of money paid to the victim so far.
A number of men have lost their licences following drink driving convictions.
A Mullingar man was disqualified from driving for three years and fined a total of €750 after pleading guilty to drink-driving. Forty-nine-year -old Gerry Flynn of Dale River, Ashe Road was stopped by gardaí at 6.20pm on Sunday July 13 at Clonmore Road after Gardaí had been observing the vehicle. He was unsteady when he got out of the car.
The court heard Mr Flynn had gone down town for lunch on the day in question and had stayed to watch a hurling match. His solicitor said he had no excuse to offer.
At Mullingar Garda station a breath sample returned an alcohol level of 78mg/100ml. Mr Flynn has a previous drink driving conviction dating back to 1986. Mr David O’Toole of 1A Lakeland Drive was also convicted and lost his licence for one year.
The court heard that he was observed driving erratically and a breath test at Mullingar Garda station showed 43mg alcohol/100ml. He had also been seen swerving in his lane and he failed to indicate when he pulled in.
Mr O’Toole’s solicitor said his client had no excuse and was very apologetic. The alcohol was still in his system from the night before.
Judge Neilan offered Mr O’Toole, who is on remand, the opportunity of a two month sentence in lieu of a €500 fine as he is currently in custody on other issues. However, he elected to pay the fine, which led to the judge describing him as a “very decent man.”
Mr O’Toole was also disqualified from driving for one year.
