Man who was nearly three times over legal limit has conviction overturned on appeal
A man who had denied drunk driving has had his conviction overturned on appeal, after a judge found the validity of the defendant's arrest was in question.
Daniel Keelan (47) with an address in Ashbourne, Co Meath, had pleaded not guilty in the District Court to drink driving in the town on August 21, 2022, contrary to section 4(4)(a) & (5) of the Road Traffic Act 2010.
Mr Keelan was convicted in the District Court and given a two-year driving disqualification, along with a 200 euro fine. He launched an appeal against his conviction, which was heard at the District Court Appeals Court sitting in Trim on Wednesday.
Stock image
News in 90 Seconds - Saturday July 12
Garda Saoirse Horan, of Ashbourne Garda Station, told the court that she was on patrol along Frederick Street in Ashbourne at around 9.55pm when she noticed a black BMW driving at speed past the garda patrol car.
Garda Horan said that she pursued the car but it failed to stop when she indicated for it to do so. She said that the car then turned into the car park of an apartment complex.
She said that when she approached, she observed a male slouched in the driver's seat who refused to get out of the car. She said that the man gave her his licence at the scene, where she said she got Mr Keelan's details and address.
Garda Horan said that Mr Keelan was argumentative with gardai, that there was a strong smell of alcohol coming off him and that his speech was slurred.
Garda Horan said that she cautioned Mr Keelan that he was being arrested under section 4.8 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 and that she handcuffed him due to what she said was his 'initial non-compliance and aggressive demeanour'.
She said that Mr Keelan was taken into custody, where a test for alcohol was carried out which she said recorded an alcohol level of 59mg per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 22mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath.
Defence counsel for Mr Keelan, Martin Dully BL, said that his client recalls that when the garda vehicle stopped at an angle, a garda member jumped out, immediately pulled open Mr Keelan's door and pulled him out of the vehicle.
Mr Dully said that the first thing Mr Keelan knew about what was happening, he found himself between the garda vehicle and his own with handcuffs on, and the garda hadn't spoken to him.
Garda Horan said that she did not put handcuffs on Mr Keelan without explaining the reason for his arrest.
Mr Keelan also maintained that he could not have been speeding on the road, as there were roadworks and 'traffic bumps' present at the time.
Mr Keelan said that the first time that his driver's licence was requested was in the garda station and not at the scene.
Garda Horan said that she got the information about the defendant's home address being in Ashbourne from his driving licence at the scene of the arrest.
However, Mr Dully produced Mr Keelan's driving licence in court and said it actually reads that his address is in Baldoyle, and so Garda Horan's evidence could not have been correct.
Judge John Martin said that the conflicting information regarding when and where the driver's license was obtained 'casts a doubt' over which version of events is correct.
He said that, as he had a slight doubt about what had happened in the car park, this put the validity of the arrest into question.
Judge Martin decided in those circumstances to allow the appeal of Mr Keelan's conviction.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
13 hours ago
- Sunday World
Family of road death victim bid heartbreaking goodbyes to slain father-of-three
Mourners say Mircea Saban Rostas was a devoted father The 33-year-old died after being struck by a BMW while standing on a footpath on Railway Street in Balbriggan on Monday, June 23. Footage of the emotional ceremony and burial were livestreamed on Facebook by the deceased man's father, Bratian Rostas, to allow relatives from abroad pay their respects. Throughout the ceremony, hundreds of comments were posted expressing their condolences to the bereaved family. 'May God rest him in peace,' wrote one. 'May God strengthen his family in the mourning, may God forgive their family.' Mircea Saban Rostas Another mourner wrote: 'May God rest you in peace and may God give you strength to overcome this trouble victoriously, brother Bratian.' In the footage, dozens of Mircea's family members could be seen openly sobbing as his flowers were laid on his coffin. Speaking at the site on Railway Street, where her brother was tragically died, Rahala Rostas, a nursing graduate, had previously described slain Mircea as being a devoted father, husband, brother and son. 'He did nothing to deserve this,' she told the Sunday World, as she laid her hand against his picture which had been fixed to the wall over the footpath where his bloodstains could still be seen. 'He was a good man, a peacekeeper, who [would] turn away from any row. 'Everyone in Balbriggan knew him, he lived here all his life and everyone who knew him knows how kind he was.' Rahala said her brother was a married man with three young children, an 11-year-old daughter and nine- and four-year-old sons. The background to tragic Mircea's death cannot be divulged at present as a man is currently before the courts. Huge crowds thronged the cemetery at the funeral of Mircea Saban Rostas On June 26, a neighbour of the deceased, 41-year-old Daniel Rostas, with an address at Hastings Green, Balbriggan, appeared before Dublin District Court charged with intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Mircea Rostas at Railway Street. He listened to the proceedings with the aid of a Romanian interpreter. Detective Garda John Delaney told Judge Finan that the accused was charged at Balbriggan Garda Station and 'made no reply'. He confirmed that he intended to object to bail; however, defence solicitor Sandra Frayne told the judge that her client was not making an application at this stage. However, she added he would seek bail on a future date and gardaí would be given advance notice. Disability Mr Rostas, who is not related to the deceased, was wearing a black grey top, grey pants and black and white runners, and did not address the court. Judge Finan granted legal aid after noting that the accused was on a disability benefit and she added that the case would be listed for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions on the next date. She also agreed to a defence request for appropriate medical attention for Mr Rostas while he is in custody. The charge is under section 4 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. He was remanded in custody for DPP directions after no bail application was made on his behalf. Mircea Saban Rostas News in 90 Seconds - Sunday July 13
Sunday World
a day ago
- Sunday World
Man who was nearly three times over legal limit has conviction overturned on appeal
Daniel Keelan (47) was convicted in the District Court and given a two-year driving disqualification, along with a €200 fine A man who had denied drunk driving has had his conviction overturned on appeal, after a judge found the validity of the defendant's arrest was in question. Daniel Keelan (47) with an address in Ashbourne, Co Meath, had pleaded not guilty in the District Court to drink driving in the town on August 21, 2022, contrary to section 4(4)(a) & (5) of the Road Traffic Act 2010. Mr Keelan was convicted in the District Court and given a two-year driving disqualification, along with a 200 euro fine. He launched an appeal against his conviction, which was heard at the District Court Appeals Court sitting in Trim on Wednesday. Stock image News in 90 Seconds - Saturday July 12 Garda Saoirse Horan, of Ashbourne Garda Station, told the court that she was on patrol along Frederick Street in Ashbourne at around 9.55pm when she noticed a black BMW driving at speed past the garda patrol car. Garda Horan said that she pursued the car but it failed to stop when she indicated for it to do so. She said that the car then turned into the car park of an apartment complex. She said that when she approached, she observed a male slouched in the driver's seat who refused to get out of the car. She said that the man gave her his licence at the scene, where she said she got Mr Keelan's details and address. Garda Horan said that Mr Keelan was argumentative with gardai, that there was a strong smell of alcohol coming off him and that his speech was slurred. Garda Horan said that she cautioned Mr Keelan that he was being arrested under section 4.8 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 and that she handcuffed him due to what she said was his 'initial non-compliance and aggressive demeanour'. She said that Mr Keelan was taken into custody, where a test for alcohol was carried out which she said recorded an alcohol level of 59mg per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 22mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. Defence counsel for Mr Keelan, Martin Dully BL, said that his client recalls that when the garda vehicle stopped at an angle, a garda member jumped out, immediately pulled open Mr Keelan's door and pulled him out of the vehicle. Mr Dully said that the first thing Mr Keelan knew about what was happening, he found himself between the garda vehicle and his own with handcuffs on, and the garda hadn't spoken to him. Garda Horan said that she did not put handcuffs on Mr Keelan without explaining the reason for his arrest. Mr Keelan also maintained that he could not have been speeding on the road, as there were roadworks and 'traffic bumps' present at the time. Mr Keelan said that the first time that his driver's licence was requested was in the garda station and not at the scene. Garda Horan said that she got the information about the defendant's home address being in Ashbourne from his driving licence at the scene of the arrest. However, Mr Dully produced Mr Keelan's driving licence in court and said it actually reads that his address is in Baldoyle, and so Garda Horan's evidence could not have been correct. Judge John Martin said that the conflicting information regarding when and where the driver's license was obtained 'casts a doubt' over which version of events is correct. He said that, as he had a slight doubt about what had happened in the car park, this put the validity of the arrest into question. Judge Martin decided in those circumstances to allow the appeal of Mr Keelan's conviction. Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
Sunday World
a day ago
- Sunday World
Judge slams cancer sufferer for using colostomy bag ‘as a weapon' in Garda stations
The public dressing down came after Eoin O'Neill was also found to have emptied the contents of his colostomy bag in a Garda station A man suffering from advanced colon cancer who threatened to slice the throat of a service station manager has been slammed by a judge for using his colostomy bag 'as a weapon' when defecating inside a midlands based garda station on three separate occasions. Judge Bernadette Owens told Eoin O'Neill, of Bloomfield Drive, Athlone his conduct in spreading excrement on a mattress and over the walls of a holding cell at Athlone Garda Station on May 11 and May 12 this year was 'entirely unacceptable'. That public dressing down came after O'Neill was also found to have emptied the contents of his colostomy bag in the station's custody suite area some two weeks earlier. O'Neill was brought before a sitting of Athlone District Court where the 60-year-old pleaded guilty to over 20 separate offences between November 2024 and May this year. The accused, it was revealed, had been on bail for a large number of criminal damage, public order and offensive weapons charges, one of which resulted in a young woman fleeing a public amenity in fear when encountering O'Neill wielding a large kitchen knife. Eoin O'Neill outside Athlone Courthouse. Sgt Paul McNally said the woman had been out for a walk at Athlone's Regional Sports Centre on May 11 and in the throes of ordering a coffee while coming across O'Neill sitting on a park bench. It was at that stage, the court heard O'Neill stabbed the bench while leaving the knife embedded and shouting to his female victim: ''What are you looking at? Do you have a problem with me?' The hostile nature of the incident, Sgt McNally added, caused the woman who was walking with her sister to flee the scene on foot. The court also heard details in connection to a litany of public order and criminal damage incidents O'Neill committed at various retail and licenced premises in Athlone between November 2024 and May. One of those saw the accused enter Applegreen Arcadia Retail Park in Athlone and threaten a female manager. Sgt McNall said the young woman approached O'Neill shortly before 9am in an attempt to ask him to 'quieten down' as customers came in and out of the service station. Those attempts, the court heard, fell on deaf ears as O'Neill replied: 'F***off, you are nothing but a bitch,' before threatening to slice the woman's throat and petrol bomb her car. O'Neill also pleaded guilty to ten additional public order offences, two of which saw the accused walk into Café Nero along the midlands town's John Broderick Street on two separate occasions in November. Eoin O'Neill. News in 90 Seconds - Saturday July 12 The first of those saw O'Neill launch into a tirade of verbal abuse at staff and customers during which he shouted: 'F*** this shit, I am going to crush your skull.' Just over a week later, O'Neill returned, this time approaching its front counter where he placed a bottle of soap on a desk while shouting at staff: 'You can shove this soap up your arse'. A little over three weeks later, O'Neill ripped a leaf blower from the hands of his 87-year-old neighbour in the Bloomfield Drive area of the town as the old age pensioner attempted to clean the driveway to his home. Sgt McNally said the incident, which unfolded shortly after 1pm, resulted in O'Neill swinging the garden tool in the air before throwing it onto the road, causing it to break. The court was told O'Neill had 43 previous convictions to his name, the majority of which entailed offences for criminal damage, public order and theft. The most recent of those indiscretions came in June 2023 for drugs possession, Sgt McNally outlined. In defence, Dara Hayden said his client was someone was very much 'prone to outbursts', behaviour which to those unfamiliar with him could find 'incredibly intimidating'. He said while a number of offences before the court could be deemed as being of an otherwise 'minor nature', there was little getting away from the two episodes at Applegreen and Athlone's Regional Sports Centre. Mr Hayden said despite the former perhaps being best described as O'Neill's propensity to make a general 'nuisance' of himself, the conduct shown towards his female victim in the latter incident was particularly unsavoury. 'She didn't believe he had ill will towards her but certainly his behaviour on the day was absolutely despicable,' he told the court. The local solicitor added how O'Neill had already spent an effective four months in custody, serving two different eight week spells behind bars from December 18 2024 to February 12 2025 and from May 14 to the present day respectively. He said those stints on remand had been particularly onerous on O'Neill, challenges which had been exacerbated by his inability to obtain any medical treatment for advanced colon cancer. Mr Hayden implored the court to factor in a suspended element to whatever custodial aspect of sentencing it was considering to provide some 'finality' to O'Neill's current status and allow him access vital oncology services with medics at UCHG. That address caused O'Neill, himself, to interject and address Judge Owens directly, saying: 'I want to get back to my old life and see my son.' Judge Owens, in delivering her ruling, noted how the majority of the charges before the court were committed while O'Neill was on bail as she empathised with the medical plight the Athlone man found himself in. That said, Judge Owens said in spite of those ailments, the court could not overlook a series of offending where O'Neill had used his illness and resultant fitted colostomy bag to carry out further criminal acts. 'There are many people who are living with similar diagnoses and they don't behave in the way Mr O'Neill has behaved.' Judge Owens said whatever about the difficulties O'Neill faced from a medical perspective, the frequency and number of charges he had since pleaded guilty to were indicative of a man who had used his colostomy bag 'as a weapon', actions she said the court found 'entirely unacceptable'. O'Neill was consequently sentenced to a four month sentence for one of the criminal damage charges, a term that was marked as 'time served' given the 16 weeks he had already spent in custody. A further five months was handed down for the Applegreen incident which was marked in the same way as the latter sentence, a term which also directed to run concurrently. Three further five month sentences, two of which also involved criminal damage offences, were similarly issued in a ruling Judge Owens ordered to commence immediately and to be served in an equally concurrent fashion. A six month sentence, suspended for 18 months, was likewise handed down for one of the criminal damage incidents O'Neill perpetrated at Athlone Garda Station. That preceded a further €250 fine payable forthwith in default of three days in prison was also handed down for driving a dangerously defective vehicle at North Gate Street in Athlone on May 8. A host of accompanying public order, criminal damage and possession of offensive weapons charges were either 'taken into consideration' or struck out. Judge Owens also made a request for the court to write to prison authorities, urging them to ensure O'Neill received all appropriate medical attention while serving out his sentence.
