Uninsured Donegal dump truck driver hauls in hefty court fine

An Inishowen dump truck driver, who had no insurance on her car when the guards stopped her last year, has avoided a ban on a first offence.

Meghan Doherty, of 47 Cedar Grove, Carndonagh, pleaded guilty to charges of driving without insurance and failure to produce insurance when she appeared before Carndonagh District Court, which sits in Buncrana.

The 21-year-old was fined €400 and warned that she’ll be put off the road if she reoffends.

Garda Sergeant Conor Mulkerns prosecuted the case in court, explaining how the offence was detected by gardai during the early hours of Friday, July 4, 2025.

At 25 minutes past midnight on that date, Garda Neil McGinley was on mobile patrol when he observed a vehicle – a 2015-registered Nissan Qashqai – travelling along Malin Street, Carndonagh.

The vehicle was stopped, and Garda McGinley spoke with the driver, who was Meghan Doherty. She informed gardai that she had no insurance.

Garda McGinley made the lawful demand for Ms Doherty to produce her certificate of insurance to a Garda Station within ten days. She chose Carndonagh Garda Station but did not produce any documents

Sgt Mulkerns concluded the State’s evidence by informing the court that Ms Doherty had no previous convictions.

Defending the case, solicitor Ciaran MacLochlainn told Judge Emile Daly that his client thought she might have been covered under her mother’s insurance policy, however it transpired that she wasn’t.

“She’s a single girl living at home with her parents. She has no previous convictions and was very cooperative with the guards,” he said.

Mr MacLochlainn said Ms Doherty, who earns around €400 per week, needs her licence for work purposes.

“She works as a dump truck driver for a company in Navan, County Meath. She travels down to work on a Sunday night and comes back on a Friday night,” he explained.

Judge Daly said she wouldn’t apply a disqualification on the basis of a first conviction, and based on the fact that Ms Doherty is working and needs her licence for work.

However, the judge warned: “If it goes into a second conviction, there will be a mandatory disqualification.”

She also imposed a €400 fine on the Carn woman, with four months to pay, while taking the Section 69 charge of failure to produce insurance “into account”.