‘You got a lucky break today,’ Judge Joanne Carroll told a young driver. ‘But you must make sure your driving affairs are in order.’ Before Bantry District Court was Bryan Tooher (20) of Kealanine, Coomhola, Bantry, who had bought a 04 reg car with a view to doing it up and selling it on, but drove without insurance while taking it to a garage in Bantry town. Just three days before he was stopped by Gda Michael Dunne at Newtown on June 6th, Mr Murphy said his client had purchased the fixer-upper.

‘He does have insurance on his own car, and he should have transferred it,’ the solicitor stated. Sgt Trish O’Sullivan agreed that the 20-year-old driver has a full and valid driving licence, and insurance to drive his own car. And she acknowledged that he has no previous convictions.

Judge Carroll struck out the charge of driving without insurance on the basis that this man did have a policy covering his own vehicle.  The judge said she was taking his good character into consideration and she noted: ‘This was not a deliberate breach of the law.’
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