Woman put off the road for two years on drunk driving charge

A BALLYBUNION woman was put off the road for two years and fined €250 for drunken driving, following a contested hearing in which she failed to establish that gardaí had not acted in accordance with procedure leading up to, and following her arrest.

Maura Hanrahan, 3 Dolphin View, Doon Road, Ballybunion, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving on November 25 last at Church Road in her home town.

Garda Daniel O’Mahony told the Court that he watched as her car drove unsteadily and very slowly on the road, crossing the white line on two occasions before coming to a stop with two wheels on the road and two wheels in a parking space. A reading of 56 mcg per 100 mls of breath was returned by a testing machine at Listowel Garda Station.

Solicitor Pat Enright quizzed Gda O’Mahony as to whether he had cautioned her before her arrest; and also on the Gda’s evidence that Ms Hanrahan’s eyes were bloodshot.

“That cannot be the case for...this was at night and the reading is somewhat modest,” he said. Gda O’Mahony said he he had cautioned her prior to arrest and that her eyes were bloodshot. Gda Pádraig Ryan, who operated the testing machine on the night, also attested to having noticed Ms Hanrahan’s eyes were bloodshot.

Judge Waters found that the State had established its case, putting Ms Hanrahan off the road. He acceded to a request to postpone the disqualification until December 21.