Drunk driver had an open bottle of vodka in her jeep at 10.30am

The woman said she was driving when a red Toyota Rav 4 jeep approached from the opposite direction and crossed the solid white line heading directly for her vehicle. The woman took evasive action and was able to pull into a driveway and avoid a collision.

The woman said she observed the jeep braking and turned around and followed it. 

The jeep stopped a short distance further on and the woman took the keys from the ignition and called gardaí. When a garda patrol car arrived, the driver of the jeep, identified as Claire Coughlan, 56, of New Tipperary, Donoughmore, Co Cork, was still sitting in the driver’s seat.

Vodka bottle in footwell 

There was an open bottle of vodka in the footwell as well as a number of other alcohol containers in the vehicle. The garda asked Ms Coughlan to produce her driving licence and certificate of insurance but she was unable to provide either.

Ms Coughlan was slurring her words and appeared to be intoxicated and she was arrested at the scene. 

A blood alcohol test carried out at Macroom Garda Station showed Ms Coughlan had a blood alcohol reading of 312mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood where the legal limit is 50mg meaning she was more than six times over the legal drink-driving limit.

Defence solicitor Sean Cahill said Ms Coughlan clearly had addiction issues and she was seeking support and treatment to address the problem.

In mitigation, he said she lives in a very remote area, that she was no longer driving, and the chances of her getting back behind the wheel were “zilch”.

He said that his client was in receipt of an invalidity pension and used a walking aid. 

The court heard that Ms Coughlan had one previous conviction for drink driving from May 2022 when she was disqualified from driving for three years.

Judge Monika Leech said that as well as being intoxicated Ms Coughlan was driving while disqualified.

She said the facts of the case were extremely serious and it was “only by the grace of God” that the other motorist did not become another road casualty.

She added that she had not heard any expression of remorse from Ms Coughlan.

For driving while intoxicated, Claire Coughlan was convicted and fined €200 with six months to pay and disqualified from driving for 10 years. 

For driving without insurance, she was convicted and fined €200 with six months to pay and disqualified from driving for two years. 

The driving without a licence charge was taken into consideration.