Reoffending drunk driver avoids jail

A man who was potentially facing a prison sentence for drink driving and driving with no insurance blessed himself as he left the witness box having avoided a jail term.
Artur Siola (41) of 18 Blackfort Manor, Castlebar appeared before Castlebar District Court on Wednesday last.
Mr Siola, originally from Poland, was previously found guilty of drink driving and dangerous driving in 2011 – previous convictions that put his liberty at risk when combined with the charges before the court last week.
Siola was apprehended at Garryduff, Castlebar, on April 3, 2016. Last Wednesday, he told the court that he was drink driving and driving without insurance because he had just come home and  found his partner cheating.
“I was really upset and I wanted to get out of the house so as not to do anything stupid,” said Siola, through an interpreter.
He asked not to be sent to jail as he sends maintenance home to his ex-wife and their children in Poland. The court heard that Siola has recently gone from part-time to full-time work, and that he sends €500 a month his family in Poland, for whom he is the sole provider.
On the charge of drink driving, Judge Mary Devins disqualified Siola from driving for five years and fined him €750. He will not be allowed to drive in Ireland after that time until he gets an Irish certificate of competence, the judge ordered.
He was also fined €750 for having no insurance and €100 for driving without a driving license.