Man drove drunk while off road for drink He gets six years off the road and driving a suspended sentence

A MAN who was caught drunk driving while already disqualified from driving for the same offence was hit with a six-year disqualification period and a suspended sentence at Listowel District Court on Thursday.

Judge David Waters heard that John Kelliher, 35 Lartigue Village, Clieveragh, Listowel, was stopped driving by patrolling gardaí, near his home at 2.30am on December 16 of 2017.

Mr Kelliher (48) pleaded guilty to the charge at Thursday’s court.

Sergeant Kieran O’Connell said the gardaí at the scene formed the opinion Mr Kelliher was under the influence of alcohol having stopped his car and spoken with him.

He was brought into Listowel Garda Station where a test of his breath returned a reading of 71 mcg per 100 mls of breath.

As he was ‘actively disqualified’ at the time he was stopped he had no insurance or driver’s licence, Sgt O’Connell said.

The Court heard that Mr Kelliher had been disqualified from driving for three years and fined €350 at Cork City Court on November 4, 2014, with the disqualification postponed for six months, taking effect on April 30 of 2015.

That was his only prior conviction, the Court heard.

Solicitor Pádraig O’Connell told the Court his client was ‘ totally co-operative’ with gardaí .

“The length of the disqualification is going to have a horrendous impact on his own personal life,” he said.

Mr O’Connell explained that Mr Kelliher had moved to the UK for work after the earlier conviction but returned home to care for his elderly father.

He said his client had indicated from an early stage there would be a plea to the charge and added Mr Kelliher would most likely have to emigrate as a result of the conviction and penalties.

“I can understand drunken driving and how it happens, but this man was given a disqualification and asked the court for the benefit of a postponement. The Court gave him a full postponement but he decided he was going to ignore the Court and drink drive,” Judge Waters remarked.

“He is very contrite...he went to the UK and tells me categorically that he completely forgot,” Mr O’Connell explained, adding he did not believe his client would trouble the Court again.

Judge Waters imposed a fine of €350 and a disqualification period of six years on the drunken driving charge; a fine of €200 and a two-year disqualification (concurrent to the six-year period) on the no insurance charge.

He was given a suspended three-month sentence and disqualified from driving for two years on the charge of driving without a licence.

“He is getting a suspended sentence not for drink driving but because in direct contravention of a court ruling he took a car back on the road again. If he sits behind the wheel again while disqualified he will get a custodial sentence,” Judge Waters said.