Judge issues prison warning to county Tipperary man convicted of driving without insurance

A judge has warned a 41-year-old Newcastle motorist that he will be at “serious risk” of going to prison if he is convicted again of driving without insurance cover.

Judge Brian O’Shea issued this warning to David Michael Mangan of Coolagreen, Newcastle as he disqualified his driving licence for two years and fined him €400 for driving without insurance at Main Street, Ardfinnan on March 5.

It was the defendant’s third driving without insurance conviction.

Garda Jamie Ryan told the court he stopped the vehicle driven by Mr Mangan at 6.14pm on this date.

He made a demand that the motorist produce his driving licence and insurance to a garda station within ten days but no documents were produced.

Mr Mangan had 17 previous convictions including two convictions for driving without insurance. His most recent conviction was imposed in 2012.

After imposing penalty Judge O’Shea told Mr Mangan he had a “relatively narrow escape” and there was “serious risk” of going to prison if he came before the court again and was convicted of driving without insurance.

The judge fixed recognisance in the event of appeal at €100.