Impatient driver who drove wrong way up one-way street in West Cork admits careless driving

Judge Joanne Carroll convicted the accused of careless driving and fined him €500 allowing four months to pay

The defendant was not present in court because he was working 'in the mines' near Perth, Australia, where he was residing on a two-year visa. File picture: Dan Linehan

An impatient driver who drove the wrong way up a one-way street has pleaded guilty to the charge of careless driving in the district court.

Court presenter Sergeant Tom Mulcahy told Skibbereen District Court that gardaí were attending a road traffic incident at the junction of Main Street and Bridge Street in Skibbereen on September 15, 2024, at 12.30am.

While attending the scene they became aware of a black jeep revving its engine loudly outside JC’s takeaway at the nearby Field’s SuperValu carpark. The court heard the jeep kept revving its engine and then drove at speed the wrong way up a one-way street leading from the car park out onto Main Street.

The jeep failed to stop and then drove off at speed towards North Street. The court was told that gardaí were unable to pursue the vehicle because they were attending to a road traffic incident that had happened a short time earlier.

The court heard that the driver of the jeep — identified as 30-year-old Brendan O’Donovan of Kealties, Durrus, and currently residing in Perth, Australia — had seven previous convictions including four for road traffic matters. O’Donovan’s most recent conviction was for possession of drugs in 2019.

Defence solicitor, Flor Murphy, said O’Donovan was not present in court because he was working “in the mines” near Perth, Australia, where he was residing on a two-year visa. He said O’Donovan’s mother was in court on his behalf and his client had instructed him to plead guilty to the charge of careless driving.

Mr Murphy said that on the night in question O’Donovan was collecting family members from Skibbereen and became impatient when they took a long time to leave JC’s takeaway and was revving the engine to let them know he was anxious to leave. 

Mr Murphy said the jeep was “facing the wrong way” and O’Donovan realised his mistake after exiting onto Main Street and “kept going”. Mr Murphy said O’Donovan was well known for being “wildish” in his youth but had always worked and had not come to garda attention for several years. 

The court was told that O’Donovan was fully co-operative, had apologised to gardaí the next day and he had also instructed his solicitor to apologise to the court. Judge Joanne Carroll convicted O’Donovan of careless driving and fined him €500 allowing four months to pay.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme