Garda convicted of careless driving after 10kph crash

A SERVING garda who failed a roadside breath test for alcohol has been convicted of careless driving after a late-night ‘very low-impact’ collision with a taxi on his way home from the pub.

At Ennis District Court yesterday, Judge Alec Gabbett imposed a fine of €500 on David Kenneally, 41, of Tulla Road, Ennis, Co. Clare, after he changed his plea to guilty to careless driving concerning ‘the less than 10km per hour’ collision with the back of a taxi at 1.55am at Abbey Street, Ennis on February 5, 2022.

Counsel for Mr Kenneally, David Staunton, asked Judge Gabbett to be as lenient as he could as Mr Kenneally has already endured several significant ancillary penalties above what a normal citizen would endure that have affected his professional and personal life.

Mr Staunton said his client has been suspended from An Garda Síochána since the offence and ‘there will be consequences elsewhere professionally for him’.

State Solicitor Aidan Judge said what happened on the night was ‘an unfortunate incident’ and that Mr Kenneally has no previous convictions.

Mr Kenneally initially pleaded not guilty to charges of careless driving, drink driving and frustrating a Garda prosecution at Abbey Street, Ennis, on February 5, 2022.

However, Mr Kenneally changed his plea to the careless driving charge midhearing after the State withdrew the more serious charges of drink driving and frustrating a prosecution.

Earlier in evidence, Sgt David Hannon said that at 1.55am he received a report of a road traffic collision at Ennis’s Abbey Street outside Knox’s pub.

He said when he got to the scene, offduty garda David Kenneally ‘told me that he was driving one of the vehicles and crashed into the back of a taxi’.

Sgt Hannon told the court that he went up to the taxi driver ‘and I asked him if was okay and he said that he had a pain in his neck and back and he requested an ambulance’.