Longford District Court: Man hit with six year disqualification

A farmer and part time quarry worker was banned from driving for six years and fined €750 after he was caught driving while disqualified in Ballymahon.

Patrick Landers (28) Ashfield, Shinaglish, Gort, Galway, pleaded guilty to no insurance and having no driving licence as well as failing to produce a licence.

Those charges followed an incident on May 4, 2023 at Drinan, Ballymahon, Co Longford.

Prosecuting Garda Aiden Lenehan said he stopped the accused driving a Nissan Almera and quickly discovered Mr Landers did not have a valid licence.

Following his arrest, Garda Lenehan said he later charged him at 11pm that same evening.

The court was informed Mr Landers should not have been at the wheel on the day he was stopped in Ballymahon owing to a previous conviction in November 2021.

That offence, for failing to remain at the scene of an accident and of having no insurance was recorded at Ennis District Court.

In defence, John Quinn said his client had, in fact a certificate of insurance that dated back to July 2022 despite orders from the court precluding him from driving.

He said his client was cooperative with gardaí throughout the entire process, revealing also that Mr Landers had been “quite distracted” over an illness to a family relative.

Mr Quinn said the entire episode was “regrettable” in that Mr Landers was, to all intents and purposes, a farmer and part time quarry worker who was doing his best to contribute to society.

“He is a young man trying to hold down a living and his disqualification would have been up had he complied,” he said.

Mr Quinn also asked Judge Bernadette Owens to be as accommodating to his client as the court would allow.

“He has learnt his lesson and won't drive without being authenticated in every way and ask if you could be as lenient as possible,” he said.

Judge Owens fined Mr Landers €750 for the no insurance charge and disqualified him from driving for six years.

He was also given four months to pay.

The no driving licence charge and failing to produce a driving licence were both taken into consideration.