Funeral expenses leave Kerry driver uninsured, court hears
The KerrymanA judge granted leniency to a young man whose insurance lapsed after contributing to his grandmother’s funeral, the Tralee District Court heard on Wednesday.
Ethan Lee Byrne Reidy (24) appeared in court on a charge of driving without insurance on March 28, 2025.
His solicitor, Brendan Ahern, said the policy was automatically cancelled for non-payment because his client forgot about an automatic monthly payment after contributing to his grandmother’s funeral expenses and he had insufficient funds in the account.
His client was “taken by surprise”, said the solicitor.
“He renewed it that day,” said Mr Ahern.
Mr Byrne Reidy depends on his driving licence to commute to Cork from Castleisland, added the solicitor.
Det Sergeant Chris Manton noted the judge was not obliged to disqualify a driver on their first offence in special circumstances.
Judge Catherine Ryan asked for evidence the defendant had quickly renewed his insurance and adjourned the case to November 5.
By the end of court, Mr Byrne Reidy produced documentation to show he was uninsured for 32 days and had updated his insurance immediately when aware of its cancellation.