Search

16 Oct 2025

‘Unremarkable’ drink driver who was almost three times the limit banned for two years

29-year-old Buncrana defendant handed mandatory disqualification after admitting offence

‘Unremarkable’ drink driver who was almost three times the limit banned for two years

The defendant was almost three times the limit behind the wheel.

A Buncrana man, who was almost three times the legal alcohol limit when the guards stopped him last year, has been put off the road for two years.

Philip Cuffe, of Kinnego, Buncrana, pleaded guilty to a charge of drink driving at Buncrana District Court.

The 29-year-old defendant was represented in court by local solicitor Frank Dorrian, who described his client’s offence as “unremarkable”.

Evidence in court showed how Mr Cuffe was stopped driving a UK-registered vehicle by Garda Colm Molloy at Drumfries, Buncrana on Tuesday, August 13, 2024.

The Buncrana man was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and a sample of his urine was later taken at the Garda Station.

READ NEXT: Woman was almost SIX times the limit when she crashed van at beach

Sergeant Conor Mulkerns outlined to the court how Mr Cuffe gave a reading of 172 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine, which is almost treble the legal limit of 67 milligrammes and carries a mandatory ban of two years.

Solictor Dorrian said, in defence of the case.

“There’s nothing remarkable, judge. It brings its own consequences.”

Judge Ciaran Liddy imposed a two-year disqualification on Mr Cuffe, and he also issued a fine of €100, with a deadline of six months to pay.

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!


Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

Subscribe

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.


Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.