A SKIBBEREEN man’s life spiralled out of control over the past year, as he went from being a respectable citizen to literally being homeless, jobless and committing offences, a court recently heard.
Aidan Murphy (53) of Compass Hill, Coronea, Skibbereen appeared at a recent sitting of Bantry District Court where he pleaded guilty to numerous offences including the possession of drugs, drink driving, two counts of dangerous driving, and driving without insurance.
Sgt Trish O’Sullivan said that at 1.30am on November 19th 2022, gardaí observed a car with no lights on and followed it to Ballylickey where they stopped it.
‘The defendant, who was driving the car, got out of it and was unsteady on his feet. They were satisfied he was drunk and arrested him and bought him to Bandon Garda Station,’ said Sgt O’Sullivan.
The court heard that two breath samples taken from Mr Murphy gave a reading of 25mcgs of alcohol per 100mls of breath. A fixed charge penalty notice was issued and not paid.
Gardaí also found a quantity of cannabis in the back seat of the car with an estimated value of €600.
Defence solicitor Flor Murphy said his client could have paid the notice but his life started to spiral at that stage.
The court then heard that at 9.53pm on February 5th last gardaí were operating a checkpoint at Newtown, Bantry and noticed the defendant’s car pulling in on approach to the checkpoint.
‘He got out and the gardaí spoke to him. They observed there was no insurance on the vehicle while the tax had expired since July 2022 and the NCT has expired. The fixed charge notice was later issued but not paid,’ said Sgt O’Sullivan.
The next incident took place on September 1st last at both Ardra and at Seafield when gardaí received a report from a female member of the public about the manner in which a car was being driven.
‘She followed the car into Bantry, the driving was erratic and the car was on the wrong side of the road. She then saw it pull in at a mobile home in Renrour West.’
When gardaí attended the scene and spoke to the defendant, they got a strong smell of alcohol from him and they arrested him and brought him to Bantry Garda Station. A breath sample taken gave a reading of 74mcgs of alcohol per 100mls of breath.
The court heard he has no previous convictions but had received the benefit of the Probation Act for a minor public order offence.
Solicitor Flor Murphy said his client’s life spiralled out of control over the past year and went from being very respectable to literally being homeless, jobless and committing offences.
‘He is pleading to all the offences and he seems to be taking control of his life now and he knows he faces other difficulties including being off the road,’ said Mr Murphy, who handed into court a letter from a health facility about the defendant.
On reading the letter, Judge James McNulty noted that the defendant has many notably qualities and is considerate, kind and resilient with all the ongoing supports.
‘He’s entitled to be dealt with fairly and in a kind and compassionate way. We will allow him get back on his feet,’ said Judge McNulty.
The judge directed him to enter a probation bond for one year on the cannabis possession charge in his own bond of €100 with no cash required.
He convicted and fined him €100 and disqualified him from driving for six months on the drink driving charge from November 19th last year.
He agreed to defer the driving ban until January 6th. Mr Murphy was also disqualified from driving for one year and convicted and fined €100 on the no insurance charge from February 5th last, while having no tax or NCT displayed were taken into consideration.
Regarding the most recent charges from September 1st last, Judge McNulty said it places the defendant at risk of a custodial sentence.
He therefore asked for the probation services for a probation report and to assess his suitability for to carry out community service.
He convicted him on the both drink driving and dangerous driving charges, adjourned for a probation report to January 25th and deferred penalty on both offences.
