Man gets three months for dangerous driving
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A 20-YEAR-old man was sentenced to three months in prison, backdated to the date he first entered custody, after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, which led to a collision that left a woman with a punctured lung. Luke Flynn of 78 Cois Dara, Tullow Road, Carlow appeared via video link from Clover Hill Prison before Judge Geraldine Carthy at Carlow District Court charged with trespassing, theft and dangerous driving.
The court previously heard that on 28 November 2025, Mr Flynn entered the backyard of a private residence on the Carlow-Laois border without permission. He then took four car batteries at a combined value of €100 from the yard and put them in his van.
After being disturbed by the owner of the house, Mr Flynn tried to leave the scene but collided with a vehicle driven by a woman who lived at the house. The woman suffered a punctured lung as a direct result of the collision and was hospitalised for a week.
Mr Flynn was remanded in custody following a sitting of Carlow District Court in early January to give time for a probation report to be prepared and produced before the court.
Defence solicitor Chris Hogan told the court that the probation report shows that not only was his client deemed at low risk of reoffending but he was also concerned about the victim’s injuries due to the fact he stayed at the scene of the collision. Mr Hogan said that Mr Flynn was “somewhat vulnerable due to his age and history of anxiety” and that the probation report shows he was in the company of older criminals on the day in question.
“I think these people abused him on the day and got him to drive,” Mr Hogan added.
Mr Hogan told the court that his client was exposed to significant domestic abuse when he was a child, which is why his mother moved him to the UK.
The court also heard that Mr Flynn had found prison difficult and did not wish to go back and intends to return to the UK when possible.
Mr Hogan handed over €100 to the court for the value of the stolen car batteries, which Judge Carthy acknowledged as mitigation.
Judge Carthy took into account the guilty plea and positive probation report; however, she said the section 53 offence for dangerous driving was the most serious and she noted the “substantial injuries for the victim” and convicted and sentenced Mr Flynn to three months in prison, backdated to 3 December 2025, when he first entered custody. She also disqualified him from driving for two years.
The theft and trespassing offences were taken into consideration.
Mr Hogan asked Judge Carthy for arraignment, to which she set a bond of €500 and a €400 cash lodgement.
