Driver was 'tippin' on' when clocked at 125km/h near Offaly village
Tullamore man heading for Shannonbridge with 'sunglasses on' in Audi Q7 said he thought garda was 'postman' at 50km/h zone in Cloghan
AN Audi driver who was travelling at 125km/h as he approached a 50km/h zone was fined €2,000 and banned from the road for two years.
Garda Diarmaid Loughnane told Tullamore District Court he was conducting a speed check at Castle Street, Cloghan on May 22, 2025.
At about 5.40pm he clocked a 2017 Dublin-registered Audi Q7 travelling at 125km/h about 77 metres away from the 50km/h zone.
Garda Loughnane said he stepped out and made eye contact with the driver who “just kept going”.
The guard added that he took down the registration number immediately and rang Garda Niamh Abbott who was a number of miles down the road stopping another motorist and he believed it was a minute or two before she stopped the Audi.
Garda Abbott told the court she was at Lestrange Bridge, Cloghan dealing with a separate vehicle when she got the call from Garda Loughnane about the Audi Q7 travelling in her direction.
Garda Abbott said she was on the other side of the bridge and just off the phone when a black Audi “came at a really fast speed over the bridge on the wrong side of the road”.
She said it was forced to stop because she was standing in the middle of the road and had another car stopped on the side.
The garda said the driver gave his name and address and said he was on his way to his girlfriend's house in Shannonbridge, having come from Birr where he worked.
When asked if he realised how fast he was travelling he said: “I was tippin' on, yeah”, Garda Abbott told the court.
Asked if he had seen the garda signalling him to stop in Cloghan, he said: “I thought it was a postman.”
Garda Abbott also said Mr Longworth said he may not have been able to see properly because he had sunglasses on.
“Horrendous speed in a 50 zone,” said Judge Andrew Cody, convicting him of dangerous driving. He fined Adrian Martin Gerard Longworth (40), Oakfield, Tullamore, €2,000 along with the two-year disqualification. The judge also fixed recognisances for an appeal.
(Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme)