'Take off these cuffs and we’ll see who’s the big man', drink driver tells Cork gardaí

A drink driver who was so intoxicated he almost drove his car into a ditch when gardaí tried to stop his vehicle has been convicted in his absence in the District Court.

Inspector Anthony Harrington told Macroom District Court that on December 10, 2024, at 8.15pm, a Garda patrol car observed a silver Audi car “driving erratically” on the N22 road at Lissarda near Macroom. The court heard the car had “no lane discipline”, kept stopping and starting, and “almost drove into a ditch” as gardaí attempted to stop it.

The driver of the vehicle was Trevor Horgan 33, of The Hermitage, Macroom. When he was stopped, gardaí observed Mr Horgan was slurring his speech and there was a smell of alcohol. 

He was arrested and became “irate and abusive” and was handcuffed for his own safety and the safety of arresting gardaí before being taken to Macroom Garda Station.

The court heard Mr Horgan continued to be “very abusive” when he was at the Garda station and said: 

“Take off these handcuffs and we’ll see who’s the big man.” 

The court heard Mr Horgan eventually calmed down and a breathalyser analysis showed his breath alcohol level at 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath, where the legal limit is 22mg. The court also heard Mr Horgan had two previous convictions for driving without insurance. 

Judge Treasa Kelly convicted Trevor Horgan of drink-driving and fined him €500, with three months to pay. He was also disqualified from driving for three years. 

The careless driving charge was taken into consideration and recognisance for appeal was fixed at €500 with €100 required in cash.

This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme