An electrician has been banned from driving for two years after his driving sparked the attention of Gardai in Letterkenny.
Kieran Taylor was charged in connection with an incident at Neil T Blaney Road, Letterkenny on August 16, 2020.
Gardaí on uniformed patrol observed a vehicle making a number of manoeuvres on Pearse Road.
No indicators were used at a junction and the vehicle crossed the white line.
Officers stopped the vehicle and spoke to the driver. Gardaí detected a smell of alcohol and arrested Taylor at 4.02am.
After being conveyed to Letterkenny Garda Station, Taylor was found to be over the legal drink-drive limit while he also tested positive for the presence of drugs.
Taylor was also charged with driving without a valid insurance policy and of failing to produce insurance after a lawful demand was made.
Taylor’s solicitor told Letterkenny District Court that his client ‘fully accepts that it was atrocious behaviour to drive the vehicle under the influence’.
Taylor was, his solicitor said, a single father-of-one who has now ‘turned his life around’ having set up his own business in the last 12 months.
“He was in a very dark place and in a very difficult place at that time, not that he offers that as an excuse,” his solicitor said.
Judge Éiteáin Cunningham convicted Taylor and disqualified him from driving for two years. For driving under the influence, Taylor was also fined €250 and a further €250 fine was imposed for driving without insurance.
Taylor, a 34-year-old with an address in Ballymena, County Antrim, was given six months to pay.