State to decide on 5 year suspended term

A District Court Judge has said he will leave it up to the Circuit Court whether a five year suspended jail term is to be activated on a defendant who has been convicted of a drink driving and no insurance offences in the meantime. Tommy Irwin of 5 St Joseph’s Terrace was stopped at Caltragh on January 2nd last and arrested for drunk driving. A reading showed a concentration of 63mgs of alcohol per 100mls of breath. The defendant has a number of previous convictions and on July 22nd last he was give a five year suspended sentence from the Circuit Court on a burglary charge. Mr Gerard McGovern said that on the night the defendant had received a threat to his life and he had “jumped into the car and took off.” Judge Kevin Kilrane said it was up to the State if they wished to have the five year sentence matter re- entered before the Circuit Court. On the drunk driving charge he fined Irwin a total of € 600 and imposed a two year ban.