‘You could have killed anybody driving over two lanes’ – judge

A DRUNK driver who attempted to avoid gardai and “shoot off across two lanes” was ordered to undertake a restorative justice driving awareness programme.

Michael Mulvaney (46), Rathlawns, Rathcoole, appeared before Tallaght District Court, facing road traffic charges.

Garda Kevin Farrell told the court that on March 11, 2025, gardai on foot patrol noticed a driver in the car park at McDonalds in Tallaght acting erratically at approximately 12pm.

When they attempted to flag down the driver, identified as Mr Mulvaney, he took off towards the motorway.

A blood test returned an alcohol level with a concentration of 323 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine.

Asked by Judge Patricia McNamara what was going on, Mr Mulvaney said he buried his father two weeks ago to the day of the offence.

“You could have killed anybody driving over two lanes,” said the Judge.

The court heard the defendant had 13 previous convictions for road traffic offences and was previously disqualified for two years.

Defence solicitor Sean Egan said his client was “extraordinarily forthcoming”, had “put his hands up” and that he had no previous for this type of offence.

Mr Egan noted that the previous offences were a long time ago and that his client was not working, having lost his job because of drink.

Judge McNamara was “not impressed” with what happened, but because the defendant acknowledged wrongdoing and had no previous for this particular offence, recommended he undergo a restorative justice driving awareness programme.

She also expressed a desire to see reports of Mulvaney’s attendance at AA meetings.

Mr Mulvaney asked for a month to get his affairs in order before receiving a driving ban as he is trying to secure employment at the moment.

Judge McNamara agreed to defer the ban until February 5 and ordered Mr Mulvaney to undertake a restorative justice programme and come back to Tallaght District Court on February 20 for sentencing.

Funded by The Local Courts Reporting Sceheme