Man denies driving while disqualified and intoxicated

A 42-year-old man from Sonnaghbeg, Cloone claimed he was not driving at the time of an alleged drink driving incident before Judge Brendan O’Reilly during Tuesday’s sitting of Carrick-on-Shannon District Court on May 6. Fevin Higgins appeared before the court on multiple road traffic charges including driving while intoxicated, driving without insurance, and driving while disqualified.

The incident occurred at Sonnaghbeg, Cloone, where Gardaí encountered Higgins’ vehicle partially up on
the side of a ditch around midnight. A subsequent urine sample returned with a reading of 425, more than double the legal limit of 201. At the time, Higgins held neither a valid licence nor insurance, and was already serving a driving disqualification imposed in March 2023. “That’s very high!” the judge noted.

The court heard from his solicitor, Mr. Martin Burke, that Higgins, who is now residing in a caravan after his house burned down, struggles with long-term alcohol addiction and had previously been ordered to complete 100 hours of community service. “He is not just a danger to himself,” Judge O’Reilly said. “He’s a danger to everyone else using the road. It appears the penny simply hasn’t dropped.”

Solicitor Burke said his client is a small farmer who supplements his income with part-time roofing work, but conceded there was “very little” he could offer the court by way of reassurance. A letter from Higgins’ GP outlined ongoing issues with alcohol, compounded by personal hardship. Mr. Burke told the court Higgins was not attempting to contest the charges but insisted his
client had not been driving, explaining that Higgins claimed to have sat into the driver’s seat only after the car went into the ditch, when the other man in the vehicle left to retrieve a tractor.
Judge O’Reilly replied: “Your solicitor has gone over and above on your behalf. But I have a duty to enforce the law and protect the public.” The matter was adjourned for a full hearing on May 19.

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