Offender with 321 previous convictions ‘should be in record books’

A judge told a driver and garage worker with 31 previous convictions for driving without insurance that he should contact the editor of the Guinness Book of Records to have the offences included.

At Killaloe District Court yesterday, Garda Insp John O’Sullivan told Judge Patrick Durcan that Co Limerick man and car enthusiast, Martin McNamara, 25, had a total of 321 previous convictions. The majority related to road traffic offences.

Judge Durcan said the figure was easily the highest number of previous convictions he had encountered on the bench.

McNamara, of Castlerock Mews, Castleconnell, Co Limerick, was jailed for 10 months after pleading guilty to driving without insurance and driving while disqualified at Ogonnelloe in east Clare on April 2 last year. He was banned from driving for eight years.

His solicitor Shíofra Hassett said the previous convictions “are nearly all for road traffic offences”.

Judge Durcan said: “It may well be that when I have made my order, Mr McNamara should make time to write to the editor of the Guinness Book of Records and it may very well be that the record for previous convictions for no insurance could be recorded for him.”

Judge Durcan said that the 31 previous convictions for no insurance “is probably a national record. I have never heard of anything near it”.