Derry man who drove without insurance in Buncrana put off the road for two years

A Derry man has been disqualified from driving for two years after failing to appear in court to answer a series of road traffic offences detected in Buncrana last year.

Kevin McMullan, of 181 Cornshell Fields, Derry, faced four charges before Buncrana District Court but did not attend the scheduled hearing.

The 41-year-old had been charged with driving without insurance, driving without a licence, failing to produce proof of insurance and failing to produce a driving licence. The case had previously been adjourned from February.

Judge Emile Daly directed that the matter proceed in the defendant’s absence after Garda Sergeant Jim Collins confirmed that notification of the court date had been sent to Mr McMullan.

Evidence in the case was given by Keith Conlon, who told the court that he had been operating a Garda checkpoint at Tullydish, Buncrana, on June 15, 2025, when the offences came to light.

At approximately 6.40pm that evening, Garda Conlon stopped a UK-registered red Volkswagen Golf. The driver identified himself as Kevin McMullan.

Garda Conlon said the defendant did not have a driving licence with him at the time and was also unable to produce insurance documentation for the vehicle.

The court heard that Garda Conlon made a lawful demand for Mr McMullan to produce both his driving licence and certificate of insurance at a Garda Station of his choice within ten days. He nominated the Garda Station in Buncrana for the production of the documents.

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However, Garda Conlon told the court that no documentation was produced at the station within the required timeframe.

Sergeant Collins informed the court that Mr McMullan had no previous convictions.

After finding the facts proven, Judge Daly imposed a two-year disqualification on the charge of driving without insurance and also fined the defendant €500 in relation to that offence.

The court further imposed a fine of €250 for driving without a licence.

An additional €100 fine was imposed for the Section 40 offence of failing to produce a driving licence, while the Section 69 charge of failing to produce proof of insurance was taken into account by the court.

In total, Mr McMullan was fined €850 and has been given four months to pay the amount.