Close shave as Buncrana barber caught driving without insurance avoids ban in court

A trainee barber caught driving without insurance has avoided a disqualification after a judge exercised her discretion and imposed a €300 fine instead.

David O’Hagan, of 1 Heron Walk, Ardaravan, Buncrana, pleaded guilty to a charge of no insurance when he appeared before Buncrana District Court.

The court heard how the 22-year-old’s vehicle was flagged up on the Garda mobility device after it was cross-referenced against the Irish Motor Insurance Database.

Sergeant Conor Mulkerns summarised the evidence, outlining how the defendant came to the attention of gardai earlier this year.

He explained how Garda Seamus Campbell had stopped a car – a 2013-registered Volkswagen Golf – being driven by Mr O’Hagan along McCarter’s Road, Buncrana on June 25, 2025.

Real-time checks on the vehicle, on the Garda mobility device, indicated how it was not insured on that date.

A demand was made for Mr O’Hagan to produce a certificate of his insurance within ten days to a Garda Station of his choice; however, he failed to produce the required documents and the matter progressed to court.

Sgt Mulkerns further told Judge Emile Daly that the Buncrana man had no previous convictions.

Defending the case, solicitor Rory O’Brien told the court that his client had a “long, unblemished and unbroken period of insurance from the date he received his driving licence up until the date of this incident.”

Mr O’Brien said Mr O’Hagan’s policy had lapsed not long before he was stopped, and it was “oversight and inadvertence” on his part, rather than a willful attempt to evade the law.

“The policy had lapsed. He was asked to provide some sort of clarification to his insurer in relation to an issue that had arisen, but he forgot about it,” the solicitor said.

“He was subsequently using the vehicle and then realised that he hadn’t renewed.”

“He now has full insurance; he has no previous convictions and has never been in any type of trouble before.”

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Mr O’Brien asked the judge not to impose a driving disqualification, given that Mr O’Hagan relies on his licence for work purposes.

“He lives at home with his parents and is endeavouring to obtain employment as a barber, which obviously requires a degree of mobility.”

“He accepts that it was wrong. It was an inadvertent mistake. I’d ask you to exercise your discretion not to disqualify him from driving,” the solicitor urged.

Judge Daly said she wouldn’t impose a ban on a first offence, given the circumstances outlined to her.

The judge asked the defendant how many days he was without insurance and Mr O’Hagan replied: “About a month”.

The judge fined him €300, with four months to pay. She also granted Legal Aid to Mr O’Brien in the matter.