A man with 44 previous convictions, 33 of them for road traffic offences, was given a suspended jail sentence and a 10-year driving ban for driving uninsured in Ashbourne. Patrick Joseph Lawrence (49), Cloverhill Road, Ballyfermot was charged with driving without insurance at Broadmeadow Castle, Ashbourne.
Three of his convictions were for driving while uninsured. In 2019 he was disqualified for three years and on a separate occasion he was sentenced to six months imprisonment for being uninsured.
Defending solicitor Murrough O’Rourke told Trim District Court that his client was the father of eight children from 17 down to two and a half. He suffered from depression and was awaiting surgery to have a lump removed from his back.
Judge Eirinn McKiernan said she was sympathetic to his circumstances but the fact was that he had three convictions for having no insurance. “He has no regard for the traffic laws. What is he doing with a car? He’s not allowed to have a car”.
She imposed a six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and disqualified him for 10 years. “If he comes back before me again he’s in serious trouble”, she said.
