Man in court following garda pursuit of stolen JCB digger
Gardaí in pursuit of the stolen JCB through the by-roads of Co Carlow
A 43-YEAR-OLD Co Carlow man has been charged with numerous road safety offences following a dramatic garda pursuit of a stolen JCB through the rural roads of Co Carlow last week.
Martin Cunningham appeared before Dublin Circuit Court last Friday morning, where he was charged with seven counts of dangerous driving, four counts of endangering traffic, the unauthorised taking of a vehicle, driving without insurance, driving without a licence, driving under the influence and one count of theft from a shop.
All of the offences relate to an incident that occurred early last Wednesday morning following the theft of a JCB in Tullow and the subsequent pursuit through rural roads in Co Carlow and Co Kildare.
Mr Cunningham, whose address was given to by gardaí as Ballykeenan, Myshall, was remanded in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court tomorrow, Wednesday 12 March. There was no application for bail.
The lengthy pursuit of the JCB involved a garda helicopter and multiple patrol cars through rural roads across Castledermot, Carlow, Tullow and Ballon.
Gardaí have confirmed that during the pursuit a ‘less-lethal’ device was discharged, striking the driver of another JCB at White Mills, Kilbride. This driver, a man in his 60s, was in no way involved in the incident, an entirely innocent member of the public who, unfortunately, was in the wrong place on a JCB at the wrong time.
“He was shocked, but he is okay,” a garda source confirmed.
This discharge of a ‘less-lethal’ device has since been notified to the Garda Ombudsman and is now the subject of a GSOC investigation.
The incident involving the stolen JCB began when gardaí were alerted to the theft of a digger by Seamus Fox Plant Hire, based in Tullow, at approximately 7am on Wednesday morning. The pursuit continued for over two hours until the vehicle was finally stopped at Ballykeenan, close to the N80.
Footage of the incident has been widely circulated online, showing the JCB driving through Co Carlow’s rural roads with large numbers of garda in pursuit.
“We were dealing with a complex and dynamic situation and my priority was the safety of my members of An Garda Síochána, and their concern was the safety of the members of the public,” Superintendent Anthony Farrell told .
“We had our members out there trying to keep people safe in what was a very challenging situation,” he added.
Supt Farrell is appealing for information in relation to the incident.
“An Garda Síochána appeals to any person who may have any images or video footage of last Wednesday morning’s driving incident, which took place on rural roads in Co Carlow. Areas affected by this dangerous driving were: Castledermot, Carlow, Tullow and Ballon … maybe I could ask that you would copy that imagery and make it available to An Garda Síochána and contact us at Carlow Garda Station on 059 9136620,” he said.
