Dundalk man sentenced for driving without insurance

A father of 12 who had five previous convictions for driving without insurance has been sentenced to a total of four months at Dundalk district court for two further incidents where he was caught driving uninsured.

The court heard John Stokes (51) of College Manor, Hoey's Lane, Dundalk, who had 35 previous convictions, was observed by gardaí driving while disqualified, at College Manor on October 3rd last year. His car was seized the following day after he was stopped by members of the local Garda drugs unit, who knew he was banned from driving.

The Defence barrister told the court his client's partner had recently passed away and he was keen to be able to attend their month's mind mass this weekend.

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However, Judge Eirinn McKiernan said while she was very sorry about that, he had five previous convictions for driving without insurance and these are two more.

She added Mr. Stokes has a terrible record and “has absolutely no regard for Road Traffic law at all”.

The judge imposed a two month sentence for the first offence before her and a two month consecutive jail term, along with disqualifications of six years, but at the request of the defence fixed recognizance for an appeal on his own bond of €300 and an independent surety of €1,000 with cash to be lodged.