Young motorist convicted of dangerous driving after high-speed chase in West Cork
The defendant was pursued for a distance of seven to eight km by a garda car with its siren on and blue lights flashing heading towards Schull on minor and regional roads. File picture
A young Cork man who sped away from gardaí in a high-speed pursuit along the backroads of West Cork has been convicted of dangerous driving at a recent sitting of Bantry District Court.
The accused man, 19-year-old Jack O’Brien Hayes from Coosheen, Schull, Co. Cork, was charged with seven counts of dangerous driving relating to a string of incidents that occurred on the night of December 13, 2025, at various locations between Schull and Ballydehob.
Defence solicitor Flor Murphy said his client was not contesting the facts but asked Judge Joanne Carroll to consider reducing the charges from dangerous driving to the lesser offence of careless driving which does not incur an automatic disqualification on conviction.
Giving evidence, Garda Joe Tippins said gardaí were objecting to a reduction in the charges given the serious nature of the offences.
Gda Tippins said he first encountered the black BMW 5 series car being driven by O’Brien Hayes in Ballydehob at about 7.30pm. He said the car appeared to have illegal number plates and he signalled for the driver to stop.
The court heard that instead of stopping O’Brien Hayes drove away up Staball Hill forcing two people who were crossing the road to step back to avoid being hit. O’Brien Hayes was then pursued for a distance of seven to eight km by the garda car with its siren on and blue lights flashing heading towards Schull on minor and regional roads but failed to stop.
Gda Tippins said O’Brien Hayes went through a junction without stopping, drove at speeds of up to 116km/h where the limit was 60km/h and was driving well in excess of the posted speed limit for the entire pursuit.
The court was told that O’Brien Hayes encountered a van on a narrow road at Kilbronogue and had to stop but then forced his way past the van by driving up on a ditch.
Gda Tippins said he had to stay back from O’Brien Hayes on several occasions because the speed he was driving at was too fast and he eventually spoke to him only after calling at his home in Coosheen where he lives with his parents.
Gda Tippins said the number plates on the BWM did not meet the required specifications and the windscreen and front passenger windows were also heavily tinted only allowing 17% and 16% light through respectively.
Gda Tippins said he did not know how O’Brien Hayes could see where he was going on a December night with such heavily tinted windows.
Flor Murphy said O’Brien Hayes had bought the car on Facebook Marketplace and the number plate and window tinting were already in place when he got the car shortly before the incident and had now been rectified.
The court was told that O’Brien Hayes made full admissions, was insured and had not consumed alcohol or drugs on the night.
The court heard that O’Brien Hayes drove away from gardaí because the car was not taxed and he had only recently purchased it and feared there was an issue with the log book as well.
The car was subsequently seized and the illegal number plates and window tints were removed.
The court heard that O’Brien Hayes had no previous convictions but he had previously received a Juvenile Liaison Officer (JLO) caution in 2023 for failing to stop for gardaí.
Judge Joanne Carroll said the JLO from 2023 was an aggravating factor and O’Brien Hayes’ driving on the night in question was clearly dangerous.
She said that given the evidence she had no option but to convict him of dangerous driving and she appreciated the driving disqualification would have severe implications for him getting to work for his job as a machine driver in Cork.
O’Brien Hayes was convicted on one count of dangerous driving and the six remaining charges were struck out. Judge Carroll said O’Brien Hayes was fortunate he was not getting more convictions and she agreed to postpone the commencement of the mandatory two-year driving disqualification to October 1, 2026.
Judge Carroll said: “Learn from it, put it behind you and move on.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
