Clonmany teenager believed he was insured when the guards stopped him last summer

An Inishowen teenager who believed he was insured when stopped by gardaí has been fined at Buncrana District Court after it emerged his cover had expired days earlier.

Rossan Doherty, of Roxtown, Clonmany, pleaded guilty to charges of having no insurance and failing to produce insurance.

The court heard that the 18-year-old was stopped at the Shorefront car park in Buncrana on July 5, 2025, after a check on the Garda mobility system flagged an issue with the vehicle’s insurance.

Garda Eoghan Reid gave evidence that while the Renault Clio being driven did have an insurance policy in place, Mr Doherty was not listed as a named driver at the time he was stopped.

He had previously been covered under the policy, and his mother attended at the scene to clarify the situation.

The court was told that the policy, provided by Aviva Insurance, had included a provision allowing young drivers to be temporarily added for a three-month period to gain driving experience ahead of a test.

Mr Doherty had been included under this arrangement, however his cover expired on June 23, two weeks before he was stopped.

Defence solicitor Ciaran MacLochlainn said his client had been reinstated on the insurance policy six days after the incident, once the oversight was realised.

He suggested that Mr Doherty had genuinely believed he remained insured at the time he was driving.

Mr MacLochlainn asked Garda Reid if he would accept that Mr Doherty thought he was genuinely insured at the time, and Garda Reid said: “I would, yes.”

The solicitor told the court that his client had not understood that the three-month period had elapsed. He described him as a young man with no previous convictions who had fully cooperated with gardaí on the night.

The court also heard that Mr Doherty is currently in the United States, where he is working as a plasterboarder. He is in the process of applying to exchange his Irish driving licence in order to continue working, making the retention of his licence particularly important, Mr MacLochlainn told the court.

Judge Emile Daly said she accepted the circumstances outlined and agreed not to impose a disqualification. However, she recorded a conviction and imposed a fine of €300 on a first offence.