Dangerous driver drove at man who tried to stop him

A Ballina man has appeared in court in relation to two incidents of dangerous driving.

Thomas Conroy, aged 37, of St Patrick's Estate, Ballina pleaded guilty at the local district court to the offences.

Gda Brendan Gardiner told the court that Jason Tuffy came to Enniscrone Garda Station at 3pm on June 4, 2024 to report two incidents of dangerous driving. The first occurred close to St Patrick’s Graveyard at Cloonadervally at 2.35pm and the second at Bartragh, Enniscrone at 2.43pm. Mr Tuffy had been in a car with his partner Keri-Ann Duncan and their young daughter at the time.

Gda Gardiner read Mr Tuffy’s statement in court where he described leaving Enniscrone and driving towards Easkey. He had just passed the graveyard at Cloonadervally when he saw a black Ford Focus, of which Conroy was later confirmed to be the driver, coming towards him “at awful speed” with more than half of the Focus on Mr Tuffy’s side of the road. Both vehicles took evasive action.

Mr Tuffy turned his vehicle around to search for the Focus in order to report the driver for the incident that had just occurred. He returned to Enniscrone and the Focus passed in front of him close to McNulty’s pub. Mr Tuffy drove behind the Focus and began flashing lights to get the driver’s attention. He said he saw the driver look back in his rearview mirror and veer over towards the other side of the road.

The driver pulled in at Bartragh and Mr Tuffy pulled in front of him, blocking him in to prevent him leaving the area. He spoke to the driver, Conroy, and asked if it had been him who he had almost collided with at the cemetery. Mr Tuffy then observed a bottle of Budweiser in Conroy’s hand and returned to his own vehicle to get his phone to record evidence with which to report Conroy.

As he moved towards Conroy’s vehicle, Conroy began trying to drive off and Mr Tuffy placed his hands upon the bonnet of the Focus to prevent this. Conroy then drove towards Mr Tuffy, who said he was pushed backwards by the car, which then drove away.

The incident was witnessed by Ms Duncan, who also made a statement to the Gardaí and recorded the incident on her phone. She also took a photo of his licence plate. They told Gda Gardiner they did not get the driver’s name but provided a description of him and his vehicle, with Mr Tuffy noting he had a Ballina accent.

After Mr Tuffy and Ms Duncan made their report, Gda Gardiner located Conroy’s vehicle in the St Patrick’s Estate area of Ballina. Gda Gardiner said Conroy, who was asleep in the vehicle at the time, matched the description given by the witnesses and arrested him. He added that Conroy was cooperative at all times.

The defendant has 53 previous convictions.

Barrister Pat Sullivan said at face value this was a very serious case but fortunately, no one was injured. He said Conroy was remorseful and wanted to extend his apology to the victims, to the court and to the Gardaí. Mr Sullivan said Conroy had an “unmanageable” life and was addicted to alcohol but was taking steps to address these issues and would be willing to engage with the Probation Service.

Noting that Conroy had 35 previous convictions for road traffic matters, Judge Sandra Murphy said he had an “appalling driving record”. In relation to the first incident, at Cloonadervally, she imposed a fine of €350 and a two-year driving disqualification.

She said the second incident, which occurred at Bartragh, was extremely serious and puts Conroy at risk of a custodial sentence.

“It crosses the custody threshold for dangerous driving,” she said.

Judge Murphy requested a victim impact statement from Mr Tuffy and ordered the production of a probation report to help finalise the case, which she adjourned until June 12, 2026.

• Published in conjunction with the Courts Reporting Scheme.