Man fled from gardaí driving at 170kph on 'very bad roads'

A 22-YEAR-old motorist who fled from gardaí, travelling at 170kph on small country roads and who also crashed his car on another occasion because he was drunk, was “lucky to be walking away with his liberty” when he appeared before Carlow District Court last week. Joshua Brennan 11 Rahin Road, Ballylinan near the Laois/Kildare border was before Judge Geraldine Carthy, having pleaded guilty to motoring offences arising from two separate incidents on 3 June 2023 and 27 August 2023.

Garda O’Hanlon told the court that he was on duty in Arles village when he spotted what he believed was an uninsured motorist driving a Lexus car. He said that he followed the driver, Mr Brennan, to Ballickmoyler and had to activate his blue light. He continued that Mr Brennan pulled into the farmyard gateway and, just as the squad car approached him, sped away.

Garda O’Hanlon continued that Mr Brennan was driving dangerously as he followed him – at one point travelling up to 170 kph while at another juncture he overtook a car and forced an oncoming car to take evasive action. He said that he discontinued the pursuit and that he issued a warrant for Mr Brennan’s arrest. He said that when he subsequently arrested the defendant, he was very compliant and showed him the Lexus, which was in poor condition. Arising out of that incident, Mr Brennan pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, endangerment and to driving without insurance on the N80 Ballickmoyler.

Insp Tom Jones gave details about the incident that occurred on 27 August in Graiguecullen. He said that garda Kristina Beinar was on duty when she saw Mr Brennan driving a black BMW and when she followed him, she heard a loud bang as he crashed into another vehicle near Graiguecullen bridge. Insp Jones continued that garda Bienar suspected that he was drink-driving and that a subsequent urine test at Carlow Garda Station showed a positive result. The court also heard that Mr Brennan was put off the road in February this year for two years for dangerous driving, arising from an unrelated event, while he also has ongoing issues at Portlaoise Circuit Court.

Solicitor Joe Farrell said that his client had gone through “a period of offending over 12 months’’ and that “the evidence is damning.” He continued that Mr Brennan had a very good work history and is now employed in Rosslare working long hours, so he didn’t have time to get into trouble. Judge Carthy sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment for the garda Beinar offence, while for garda O’Hanlon’s offences, she noted that Mr Brennan had driven at up to 170kph on “very bad roads.” She then sentenced him to five months’ imprisonment, which she suspended for 12 months, and disqualified him from driving for four years for the dangerous driving charge. She also fined him €700 for driving without insurance and another disqualification, to run concurrently for two years. “You’re lucky you’re walking away with your freedom,” Judge Carthy told Mr Brennan .