Buncrana woman was almost SIX times the limit when she crashed van at local beach

A drunken Buncrana woman, who was almost SIX times the limit when she crashed a van at a local beach, has been banned from driving for three years.

Caroline Forshaw, of 6 Swilly Road, Buncrana, pleaded guilty to a charge of drink driving when she appeared before Buncrana District.

A number of other charges against the 39-year-old carer were dropped in light of her early guilty plea.

Sergeant Conor Mulkerns presented the evidence against Ms Forshaw, including how she was “visibly intoxicated” when gardai encountered her at the beach.

The court heard how gardai responded to a report of a traffic collision at Stragill Beach, Buncrana, on Thursday, May 15, 2025.

On arrival at the coastal scene, the guards observed a black Peugout Partner with a 212-DL registration, which had been involved in a minor crash.

Sgt Mulkerns said a female was at the location, who gave her name as Caroline Forshaw, and who subsequently made admissions that she had been driving the vehicle.

The court was told that Ms Forshaw was “visibly intoxicated” and was immediately arrested on suspicion of drink driving.

She was then conveyed to Buncrana Garda Station, where a breath specimen came back with a reading of 124 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, which is almost six times the legal limit of 22 microgrammes.

Defence solicitor Ciaran MacLochlainn said his client made full admissions on the day and was fully cooperative with the guards.

“My client is a 39-year-old lady. She’s a single person and she’s unemployed; she’s on jobseekers allowance of €244 per week and she’s currently a carer for her father.”

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Mr MacLochlainn explained what happened on the date of the arrest.

“Herself and her friend drove out to the beach at Stragill. They hadn’t realised that the beach was a public place. A lot of people go there to learn to drive. That’s where I learned to drive myself, so, it’s not an unusual place for people to drive on occasion.”

“Unfortunately, she collided with the fence, and she offered to pay the farmer for the damage caused, but he told her to forget about it. He was very kind towards her.”

“Her friend had allowed her to drive his vehicle, thinking that she had a full driving licence, but she didn’t.”

The solicitor said his client had wanted to deal with the matter at the first opportunity and put it behind her.

Judge Ciaran Liddy noted Ms Forshaw’s very early guilty plea, before imposing a mandatory three-year driving disqualification on the higher breath-alcohol reading.

He also imposed a fine of €100, with six months to pay, striking out a number of other more minor charges, which weren’t detailed in court.