Teen BMW driver hit jeep and 'sheared off' its wheel at Offaly bridge

A YOUNG man walked free from Tullamore District Court after lodging an appeal against a jail sentence imposed for dangerous driving.

Daithi Mulvey (19), Killavilla, Roscrea was found guilty of committing the offence by Judge Andrew Cody after a hearing.

Mr Mulvey had denied dangerous driving at Ballincur Demesne, Shinrone on February 2 this year and the court heard the prosecution followed a collision with a jeep near Sharavogue bridge.

A plea of guilty to the lesser offence of careless driving was entered by John O'Dwyer, BL (instructed by Patrick Martin, solicitor) but it was not accepted by the prosecution.

Nigel Stanley, the first witness for the state, gave evidence that he was driving a Volkswagen Tiguan jeep with a trailer on the date of the offence and had come from the Blackbull and turned for Shinrone.

Mr Stanley said he had gone over the brow of a hill at a bridge when a BMW car, which had overtaken another car, was coming on his side of the road.

Mr Stanley said it was a “grand day” and he was doing about 30 to 35 when there was a collision resulting in damage to the front driver's side of his jeep.

He got a cut to the head and was brought to hospital and kept overnight.

Cross-examined by Mr O'Dwyer, Mr Stanley detailed that he had come from an out farm near Blackbull where he had been herding cattle.

He denied exiting from a field where the collision occurred and he recalled speaking to Mr Mulvey after the collision.

Replying to Judge Cody, Mr Stanley said the farm he had come from was about half a mile down the road towards Birr from Blackbull and he had travelled about a mile before the collision.

Garda Declan Ganly gave evidence of going to the scene of the collision and said there was a continuous white line in the approach to the humpback bridge at Sharavogue/Ballincur Demesne.

Garda Ganly said the front driver's wheel of the Tiguan had been “sheared off” and there was a 2009 Roscommon registered BMW about 150 feet up the road on the same side.

The garda said he subsequently interviewed Mr Mulvey, who gave his address as Cooleshall, Roscrea and said he had a passenger, his girlfriend Emma Keeshan, with him on the day of the collision.

He was bringing her to a driving lesson in Birr in his BMW 520 and overtook a blue Volkswagen Polo car which was driving very slowly at the continuous white line.

Mr Mulvey told the garda that a Volkswagen came towards him over the top of the bridge and he attempted to go back into his lane but hit the jeep.

He recalled the jeep driver shouting “What are you doing?” afterwards and said he noticed a bale of hay in the trailer. Ms Keeshan was a “bit shook up” and an ambulance arrived.

Garda Ganly said the road was about seven feet across to the middle and the registration of the third vehicle was never found.

Cross-examined by Mr O'Dwyer, Garda Ganly said Mr Mulvey's car was in a roadworthy condition and the Tiguan looked okay.

The garda said there were no gateways in the immediate area and added that Mr Mulvey was co-operative.

Asked by Judge Cody for more details about Mr Mulvey's car, Garda Ganley said it was a 520 diesel but he did not know the size of the engine.

With the prosecution evidence complete, defence counsel Mr O'Dwyer said that while overtaking on the continuous white line was admitted, the evidence did not reach the threshold for dangerous driving.

Judge Cody did not dismiss the prosecution, saying there was a prima facie case for dangerous driving before the court.

In his own evidence Mr Mulvey said he collected his girlfriend in Shinrone and was heading towards Blackbull when he approached a car which was going slowly ahead of him.

The road was clear and then a jeep “came out of nowhere” and he clipped the side of it.

Mr Mulvey said he approached the driver of the jeep to see if he was alright and found him to be “very aggressive”.

The defendant added that you can see right down the road as you are approaching the bridge and he also saw bales of hay in a field there.

The third vehicle was travelling at 20 to 25 km/h when he overtook it, he said.

Asked by Sergeant Kearns, court presenter, what his speed was, Mr Mulvey said he thought he was in second gear.

Hearing that reply Judge Cody remarked: “You sheared a wheel off a jeep.”

The judge said he was fully satisfied Mr Mulvey was travelling at speed when he approached the bridge and was driving very dangerously.

He sheared the wheel off the jeep and attempted to blame Mr Stanley without any evidence by saying he had come out of a field.

The court was told by Sergeant Kearns that Mr Mulvey had previous convictions relating to careless driving and a dangerously defective vehicle but it was a different one from that involved in the collision before the court.

Sergeant Kearns said the offence occurred on November 18, 2025 when a garda observed donuts being performed in the middle of a road.

Character references from a GAA club were handed in by Mr O'Dwyer who said the accused was in employment. He asked Judge Cody for leniency.

Judge Cody said it had been a very serious accident and it was lucky the court wasn't looking at fatalities as a result.

It was a case where a driver with a previous conviction after doing donuts was in a powerful vehicle and also attempted to blame the other party.

Convicting Mr Mulvey, he imposed a fine of €4,000, disqualified him from driving for 10 years and sentenced him to two months in prison.

Legal aid was granted and Judge Cody formally assigned solicitor Mr Martin and certified for counsel.

The judge fixed recognisances for an appeal and they were taken up by Mr Mulvey.

(Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme)