Singer to be jailed if he fails to finish community service

A 31-year-old country and western singer who uses a wheelchair faces jail if he does not complete a community service sentence or get a medical report as to why he cannot do it.

Daniel Coyle was jailed for four years and disqualified from driving for 20 years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of his cousin Hugh Donegan in 2009.

However, his jail term was substituted for 240 hours community service by Judge John O’Hagan following a case at Letterkenny Circuit Court in 2012.

Coyle was before Judge O’Hagan again yesterday after the probation services revealed the singer, of Clar, Redcastle, Co Donegal, had completed just 20 hours of the service.

Probation officer Yvonne Lennox said her office had given Coyle numerous offers of ways to complete the community service but many had not been taken up.

Coyle had told Ms Lennox that he had recorded a CD for charity and the probation service was willing to give him some hours off his community service in lieu of this.

However no evidence of any CD has ever been given to the probation services, she added.

Judge O’Hagan said he was disturbed by the situation and said it looked like Coyle simply wanted to walk away from what he described as “this dreadful situation”.

He said he was prepared to give Coyle one more chance to come up with options or solutions as to how the remainder of the community service could be completed or a medical report as to why he is not fit to complete it.

He adjourned the case until January 26.