Banned motorist was driving erratically because wife was having breathing problems, court heard

Judge Vincent Deane sentenced Coen to four months in prison and disqualified him from driving for 10 years.

The defendant, with an address at a hostel in Galway city, admitted uninsured and dangerous driving on September 12, 2021.

Garda Lucy Mangan told Blanchardstown District Court that an off-duty garda reported an incident of dangerous driving to gardaí, who spotted the defendant driving eastbound on the N4.

Gda Mangan said Coen was swerving from lane to lane, drove on the hard shoulder, throwing up debris, and overtook vehicles, narrowly missing colliding with a Jeep.

Gda Mangan said she asked Coen to produce his insurance and driving licence but he failed to do so.

The defendant had 29 previous convictions and was serving a four-year driving ban at the time, the court heard.

Defence lawyer Ciaran MacLoughlin said Coen and his wife were heading to Dublin to visit his father-in-law.

His wife, who often suffers with seizures, started having breathing problems.

Coen panicked, said Mr MacLoughlin, and he wanted to get to where he was going as quickly as possible.

Mr MacLoughlin said Coen, a father of three, was living in homeless accommodation and the family’s situation was “grim”.