Ex-Donegal mayor guilty of being drunk in charge of vehicle

A Donegal county councillor has been banned from driving for three years after being found guilty of being drunk in charge of a vehicle.

Fianna Fáil politician Ciaran Brogan (44), of Sockar, Trentagh, Letterkenny, was found asleep behind the wheel of a car parked in the middle of a road on June 22nd last year. He denied the charge.

Letterkenny District Court heard gardaí were alerted to a car parked on the road at Ballymacool, Letterkenny, with the engine running and lights on. They found Brogan asleep behind the wheel with his arms folded.

In evidence, Garda Stephen Moyles told Judge Paul Kelly the Toyota Avensis was parked in a "very dangerous manner" on a narrow road.

The patrol car parked directly behind the vehicle and Garda Moyles opened the door, knocked off the engine and took the keys out. He said he got a “strong smell” of alcohol from within the vehicle.

‘Startled’

Garda Moyles said it took several minutes to rouse the defendant, who was “startled” when he woke up. At that point, the Toyota rolled backwards and collided with the patrol car as the defendant’s foot had been on the brake pedal when he had been asleep.

Garda Moyles said Brogan was “unsteady on his feet” with his speech slurred when he stepped out of the car. He said he took the view that the defendant had intended to drive the vehicle further.

The court heard Brogan, who had been appointed Mayor of Donegal the previous week, had become “verbally abusive” and demanded to know “who the f*** do you think you are”.

Brogan was taken to Letterkenny Garda station where he opted for a blood analysis to determine his alcohol level after a doctor was called to the station. It returned a reading of 244mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, almost three times the legal limit.

Kieran O’Gorman, defending, submitted to Judge Kelly that there was no factual evidence that the accused intended to drive the vehicle.

The judge convicted Brogan and fined him €400.