'Great' Offaly GAA fan's driving ban lifted

A KILCORMAC man who told Tullamore Circuit Court he is a great GAA fan had a driving ban lifted on appeal.

Brendan Monaghan, Glendine, Kilcormac, was appealing against a disqualification imposed on him when he was convicted of driving without insurance at Charleville Road, Tullamore on July 13 last year.

Sandra Mahon, state solicitor for Offaly, told Judge Ronan Munro that when the prosecution was dealt with in the District Court Mr Monaghan was fined €500 and disqualified from driving for two years.

Ms Mahon said Mr Monaghan's vehicle, first registered in 2011, had been seized and no insurance was produced for it after he was stopped. It was his first conviction.

In his evidence at the appeal hearing Mr Monaghan said the van was not insured at the time but after it was impounded he got it insured the next day and paid to have it released two days after that.

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Mr Monaghan said he was a retired soldier who lived on his own and gave evidence of why he needed to drive his van.

“I use it to go here and there, go to a match, the usual,” he said, adding that it was still insured and had its NCT.

“I don't go around trying to break the law. I got caught by the guard. I hold my hands up.”

Asked by his counsel, David Nugent, BL (instructed by Aisling Maloney, solicitor), if he was a “great fan of the GAA”, Mr Monaghan (pictured below) replied: “I am.”

The appellant added that he had been in the Defence Forces for 25 years before leaving on a medical discharge.

During his career he served in Liberia, where the Defence Forces were involved in peace enforcement, along with Eritrea, Ethiopia and Kosovo. He now suffered from post traumatic stress.

Indicating that he would remove the disqualification on the grounds that there was a “special reason” which was a “good enough reason”, Judge Munro said there was a “social aspect” to Mr Monaghan's need for a driving licence and he was a man who had served the state for 25 years.

Mr Monaghan also told the court his pension was €1,700 per month. “I try to keep things above board,” he remarked.

Judge Munro reduced the fine from €500 to €200 and gave Mr Monaghan three months to pay it.

He also granted legal aid, certifying for a solicitor and counsel.

“It's an unusual case,” said the judge. He then told Mr Monaghan: “Don't come back, if you know what I mean. We understand each other.”