Father of six spared jail sentence after latest driving conviction

A FORTY-two-year-old father of six children was spared a custodial sentence after he was convicted of driving with no insurance for the third time.
Michael Irwin of Glenamoy, Ballina, who has 14 previous road traffic convictions, was sentenced to 120 hours community service in lieu of three months imprisonment at last week’s sitting of Belmullet District Court.
Judge William Hamill was told that Mr Irwin crashed his car into a field near the Céide Fields in Ballycastle on December 1, 2014 and was hospitalised. Mr Irwin, the court heard, had been drinking on the day and had no recollection of the incident but a charge of drink driving was withdrawn before the court.
Mr Irwin was charged with driving with no insurance and pleaded guilty to the offence. Inspector Tom Calvey told the court the defendant has 14 previous convictions for road traffic offences and had two prior convictions for driving with no insurance.
In July 2008, he was disqualified from driving for seven years and fined €1,400 while in 2006 he received a three year suspended sentence for driving with no insurance.

‘Poor record’
Mr Alan Gannon, solicitor for the defendant said his client has a ‘poor record’ and has a drink problem which he is now addressing after his wife  - who is expecting their seventh child - issued him with an ultimatum.
He explained that he had a drivers licence at the time of the incident but the car he drove on the day was not insured. He said his client had a lot to drink on the day and was at a loss why he took a car he knew was not insured despite having another car which was insured.
Judge Hamill commented to Mr Gannon that the courts had tried everything for his client in the past including a suspended sentence.
Mr Gannon said all his children were under ten years of age and he was the primary carer for them as he wife worked full time. Mr Irwin, he said, was frightened of going to jail because of the consequences it would have on his family as there was nobody to look after the children. His wife had delivered him an ultimatum to stop drinking and he was seeking addiction counselling for his alcohol problem.
Judge Hamill said the only alternative was community service and asked if he would undertake it. Mr Gannon said he would and Judge Hamill sentenced him to 120 hours in lieu of a three month prison sentence and disqualified from driving for five years.