Cork woman caught driving while disqualified in 'most unfortunate situation'

Defence solicitor Conrad Murphy said the woman lived in a remote rural location and was the sole carer for her older sister, who has Down’s syndrome

The court hear that a garda suspected that the defendant was disqualified from driving and stopped the car where it was confirmed that she was disqualified and had no licence or valid insurance to drive the vehicle. File picture: Larry Cummins

A woman who was caught driving while disqualified found herself in “a most unfortunate situation”, according to a presiding judge at a recent sitting of Clonakilty District Court.

Court presenter Sergeant Tom Mulcahy told the court Pascalene Daly, aged 52 of The Bungalow, Deelish, Drimoleague, Co. Cork, was observed by a local garda driving at Shanacrane East, Dunmanway on August 13, 2025 at 1.35pm.

The garda suspected that Daly was disqualified from driving and stopped the car where it was confirmed that she was disqualified and had no licence or valid insurance to drive the vehicle.

The court was told Daly had been disqualified from driving for four years on June 4, 2025, and she had three previous convictions, two for driving without insurance and one for failing to produce valid insurance.

Defence solicitor Conrad Murphy said Daly lived in a remote rural location and was the sole carer for her older sister who has Down’s syndrome. He said that Daly’s first no insurance conviction resulted in a two-year disqualification because she did not appear in court on that occasion.

The court heard that Daly was then convicted a second time within a three-year period which incurred a mandatory four-year disqualification. 

Mr Murphy said his client had been driving since she was 18 and had a long history of working in bakeries and then as a home help. He said she was the sole carer for her older sister and this had limited her ability to work.

Mr Murphy said Daly could not afford to pay increasing insurance premiums and should have dealt with her initial conviction differently. He asked judge Joanne Carroll not to impose a custodial sentence given Daly’s difficult home circumstances.

Judge Carroll said it was “a most unfortunate situation” that had arisen because Daly had “not dealt with her affairs properly”. The judge said it was “regrettable in the extreme” but she had to convict Daly for driving while disqualified. 

The judge said Daly had driven on two occasions with no insurance and “that’s the bottom line” and the penalty was out of her hands. Daly was convicted of driving whilst disqualified and given a three-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months. The no insurance charge was struck out.

This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme