Briars foiled a ‘panicked’ drunk driver’s escape

A DRUNK driver who tried to flee from gardaí ran into trouble when he encountered a briar bush that prevented his escape, a district court has heard.

Sergeant Trish O’Sullivan told Macroom District Court that Eoin Herlihy, of Beechville, Coachford, was the driver of a red Ford Fiesta that drove through a junction at Nadrid, Coachford on December 23rd, 2023.

The manoeuvre was spotted by a garda patrol car who pulled over the Fiesta a short distance down the road.

When Mr Herlihy got out of the car he fled the scene on foot and was pursued by a garda who eventually caught up with him when he encountered some briars that slowed his progress.

Mr Herlihy then resisted arrest and pepper spray had to be used to subdue him.

He was taken to Macroom Garda Station where his blood alcohol level was recorded as 54mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, the legal limit being 50.

Defence solicitor Patrick Mullins said the 31-year-old builder and father-of-three panicked when he was stopped and regretted his actions on the day.

Mr Mullins said that after his initial reticence, Mr Herlihy was fully co-operative with gardaí.

Mr Herlihy pleaded guilty to obstruction and drink driving while a charge of dangerous driving was withdrawn.

The court heard he had one previous conviction for not wearing a seatbelt, in 2017.

Judge Philip O’Leary said that Mr Herlihy did cause the gardaí some ‘hassle and grief’ when arrested but thankfully nobody was injured. He said that Mr Herlihy essentially had a clean record, which was to his credit.

On the drink driving charge he was convicted and fined €350 and disqualified from driving for two years.

The obstruction charge was dismissed under the Probation Act and Mr Herlihy made a €150 donation to the Wellsprings charity in Cork.