Letterkenny man hit with driving ban after uninsured car stopped at checkpoint
A Letterkenny man has been put off the road for two years and fined a total of €750 after being detected driving without insurance.
The case of David Daly was before Letterkenny District Court after his car - which was without tax or MOT for almost three years - was stopped by Gardai.
The 42-year-old, of College Park, Letterkenny, was charged with offences after being stopped at a multi-agency checkpoint at Drumbarnett, Newtowncunningham, on February 10, 2026.
Garda Stephen Joseph Carroll of the Letterkenny Roads Policing Unit told the court that Gardai were on duty with colleagues from the Road Safety Authority and Customs on the day in question.
A blue Hyundai i30, being driven by Daly was stopped. The driver did not have a licence or insurance, the court heard.
Garda Carroll outlined how the MOT was expired from July 2022 and the UK car tax expired in May 2023. He added that there was no active insurance policy on the vehicle.
The driver initially gave his name as Thomas Daly, but a check returned his details as David Daly.
Garda Carroll said that the accused man told him that that was his Christian name and he “didn’t like to use it”.
Daly opted to produce his documents at Letterkenny District Court, but did not do so.
He was before the court charged with driving without insurance, driving without a licence, failing to produce insurance and failing to produce a licence.
Sergeant Maurice Doyle informed the court that Daly has nine previous convictions, including two for no insurance and one for driving without a licence. His last conviction, however, was in 2019, when he was disqualified for four years.
Daly was not present in court and was not legally represented when his case was called.
For driving without insurance, Judge Emile Daly convicted and fined the defendant €400 and, given that no special circumstances were outlined in court, she disqualified him from driving for a period of two years.
He was also convicted of driving without a licence and fined €350. The other charges were marked as taken into consideration by the judge.
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