'Whirlwind of silliness' lands Castlebar man in court
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar District Court.
An intoxicated and uninsured Castlebar motorist got behind the wheel of a car "in a whirlwind of silliness", a court has heard.
Thomas Butler, aged 38, of Oakview, Turlough Road, Castlebar pleaded guilty at the local district court to drink driving and failing to produce a licence, insurance, tax or a valid NCT cert.
Gda Deborah Gilroy told the court that she was on patrol with a colleague at around 8.15pm on April 22, 2022, when they responded to a complaint of loud music being played at the defendant’s address. They arrived at the scene and observed the defendant and a group of people standing around a makeshift bonfire. Butler was holding a can of beer.
Gda Gilroy and her colleague were told to leave as they were not welcome and they did so. A short time later, the two gardaí witnessed a Ford Galaxy being driven by Butler into Blackthorn Village estate, which is also on the Turlough Road. They followed this vehicle and stopped the driver Thomas Butler.
Gda Gilroy said she detected a smell of intoxicating liquor off Butler’s breath and his eyes were glassy and bloodshot. The defendant was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and conveyed to Castlebar Garda Station where he provided a breath sample that gave a reading of 65mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 22mg.
Gda Gilroy later returned to the location where they arrested Butler and found the keys of the Ford Galaxy thrown into a nearby bush. The vehicle's tax, insurance and NCT were all expired and Butler also failed to produce his driver's license.
The court heard that Butler has 15 previous convictions.
Barrister Kathleen Henry said her client wished to apologise for what had happened. He now realizes it was a stupid decision to get behind the wheel of a car on the night of the incident.
“It all happened in a whirlwind of silliness,” the barrister told Judge Fiona Lydon.
“It was a bit more than silliness,” replied Judge Lydon.
The judge adjourned the case until May 7 for the production of a pre-sanction report.
