Rally weekend antics lands in court, but solicitors send their apologies
THE annual post-rally pilgrimage to Letterkenny District Court had an added twist this year.
The Donegal International Rally, already overshadowed by the tragic death of a spectator on Saturday, was followed by more than 30 defendants in rally related cases appearing on the court list for Monday past, only to find their solicitors had staged something of a no-show over an ongoing legal aid fees dispute.
But fortune, as ever, favoured the brave. A handful of defendants, unrepresented and apparently undaunted, faced the judge themselves. Jakub Sawic (25) from Wexford, charged under Section 4 of the Public Order Act with being drunk and disorderly on Main Street, Letterkenny, paid a €50 charitable donation to Letterkenny Tidy Towns in court and walked out with the matter struck out.
Alex McCormack (22) from Castlepollard, Co. Meath similarly charged, was also directed to make the same €50 donation. And a 25-year-old visiting from Scotland, who had left his car keys with someone else whilst in the pub had his car seized from outside the premises. He had the matter struck out entirely on condition that he did not let anyone else use his car and made his way back to the ferry.
Of the more than 30 defendants before the court on Monday, Donegal’s own accounted for half. The remaining half came from the four corners of the island and beyond, with Down, Mayo, Sligo and Wexford each having two defendants, and one from each of Armagh, Cavan, Fermanagh, Laois, Monaghan, Tipperary, Tyrone, Wicklow and Scotland.
Garda checks on the High Road on the Donegal Rally weekend.
Ages ranged from 18 to 55, with an average of 27, suggesting that youth remains a large factor in offending on rally weekend.
Almost 60% of charges on the list fell under the public order offences of being drunk and disorderly or of threatening behaviour, a statistic that will surprise nobody who has ever watched rally weekend unfold on the Port Road after dark.
Driving offences accounted for just under 40%. One defendant of note was charged with multiple dangerous driving charges in Letterkenny. That man is Ben McGuinness (18) from Kilcoole in Co. Wicklow who started his dangerous driving spree at Bonagee, Letterkenny. His case was adjourned pending direction from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Others faced charges covering offences ranging from drunk driving to dangerous driving across Letterkenny and Stranorlar.
Rounding out the charge sheets were a man with a large spanner, charged with having a weapon, and another man for causing criminal damage to a window.
Among the more colourful details on the charge sheets was a defendant charged with loitering, whose listed address turned out to be a takeaway near the station roundabout in Letterkenny.
Letterkenny bore the brunt of proceedings, accounting for about 80% of the charges on Monday’s list, with Stranorlar in second place, and three elsewhere in the county. The Port Road was the standout street, featuring in eight separate cases, followed by Pearse Road and Lower Main Street with three each.
Over the course of the whole rally weekend Gardaí made more than 100 arrests in Letterkenny.
Between Thursday, June 18, and Monday, June 22, there were almost 90 incidents of public order offences which were dealt with by means of arrest or on-the-spot fines, while more than 20 drivers were arrested on suspicion of drink or drug driving.
A breathalyser and drug testing wipe used by the Gardaí.
Around eight drivers were arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, and multiple vehicles were seized for reasons including dangerous driving, no insurance, no NCT, or being deemed dangerous or defective.
The reason most of the cases in court on Monday went nowhere had nothing to do with the merits of the charges. Ireland’s criminal defence solicitors have withdrawn legal aid services nationwide in a dispute with the Department of Justice over proposed changes to how they are paid.
In Letterkenny, the timing could hardly have been worse, with a rally weekend court list landing squarely in the middle of a nationwide legal protest.
With a raft of cases adjourned to September, a significant number of bench warrants issued, cars seized and some cases awaiting DPP directions, the court will reconvene in September for these cases.
By then, it is hoped that solicitors and the Department of Justice will have found common ground, the rally will have a new date in the diary, and the Port Road in Letterkenny will have had the summer to recover.