Youth led gardaí on high speed chase

A teenager, who sparked chaos and sent terrified commuters scrambling as he led gardaí on a dramatic high-speed chase through busy late-afternoon traffic - reaching speeds of more than 120kmph - before being cornered by armed officers near Mullingar, has been jailed for 10 months.

The dramatic chase unfolded shortly after 5pm in September 2023, when a black Audi approached a Garda checkpoint on the N55, and suddenly turned around and sped off towards Ballinagh Town.

Gardaí quickly gave chase, clocking the car at 120km/h as it tore down the main road and rural laneways, overtaking vehicles at dangerous speeds and forcing oncoming motorists to take evasive action to avoid collision.

The defendant, who was just 17 at the time but has since come of age, appeared before Judge Gerard Jones at Cavan District Court while already in custody on unrelated matters.

It was explained that Judge Raymond Finnegan had requested a probation report on a previous occasion, but counsel representing the accused, Cecilia Ní Choileáin BL, stated that her client wished to deal with all matters immediately.

During the pursuit, the Audi driven by the defendant was witnessed performing a series of reckless manoeuvres - including driving on the wrong side of a roundabout at Corduff, before racing along the locally known “hilly road”. It was seen to overtake vehicles at high speed at Ballytrust, forcing oncoming traffic to pull in, and passed through stop signs at Glascarrick and Lavagh, Ballyheelan.

When gardaí finally drew alongside the vehicle, they discovered “other youths” inside.

Further incidents of dangerous driving were recorded at Grousehall, Loughduff and Killyfassy, Mountnugent, before the car fled towards Oldcastle.

The chase only came to an end after an alert was issued and members of the Armed Support Unit dramatically boxed in the car near Mullingar.

Judge Jones was told the defendant already had 22 previous convictions and had, only the previous day before his Cavan court appearance, received two consecutive four-month prison sentences and lengthy driving bans for separate motoring offences.

Defence barrister Cecilia Ní Choileáin BL said her client had endured an extremely troubled upbringing, having left school before the age of 10 years and begun taking drugs while still a child. She said he was remorseful, had apologised for his actions, and was hoping for leniency as he was soon to become a father.

However, Judge Jones warned the teenager he had been “very lucky” to have his case dealt with in the district court, saying similar cases before the circuit court had resulted in prison sentences of up to seven years.

The judge imposed a 10-month prison sentence in relation to the dangerous driving offence at Killyfassy and banned the young man from driving for six years.

All remaining charges were taken into account.

Legal aid was granted.

* This article was produced with support from the Courts Reporting Scheme