Midlands inter-county GAA player avoids driving ban after big donation to charity

AN Offaly hurler has escaped a driving ban after donating €2,500 to charity.

Cathal Kiely (22), St Cormac's Park, Kilcormac, had been prosecuted for dangerous driving but Judge Andrew Cody reduced the charge to careless driving at Tullamore District Court .

A previous sitting heard Mr Kiely had been clocked driving at 111kph in a 50kph zone at Charleville Road, Tullamore on March 29, 2022.

Garda James Cullinan told the latest sitting Wednesday, October 4 that because he was driving at more than twice the speed limit he was charged with dangerous driving.

“When I stopped him,” Garda Cullinan told the court, “he said he was ‘wrecked tired’ and just wanted to get home.”

At that sitting Judge Cody heard from defending solicitor Donal Farrelly that his client was a successful hurler who played on the senior Kilcormac/Killoughey and Offaly teams.

On that day he had just finished training and was rushing to do a job for his employer. He worked as an apprentice electrician and he wanted to impress his employer by getting the job done quickly and well.

Mr Farrelly said the road he was driving on was long and wide and there was little traffic.

The solicitor also said the Kilcormac man had €2,500 to donate to the Dillon Quirke Foundation.

In addition to that donation, Judge Cody said he wanted the accused to coach at three Cul camps, not involving his own club, and on that basis he adjourned sentence to this week for finalisation.

Today Mr Farrelly repeated that the money had been donated and said his client had also completed a course.

While he could not coach at the Cul camps because they were already booked out with staff, he had been training heavily and last weekend played in the county semi-final and successfully got through to the final.

Judge Cody described the speed as “significant” but said that in the circumstances he would reduce the charge from dangerous driving to careless. He imposed a fine of €300.

A conviction for dangerous driving carries a mandatory disqualification.