‘I have to watch the clock myself’ on Cork bypass, says judge who struck out speeding case

A Kerry man who failed to pay a fixed charge penalty notice for breaking the speed limit on a busy road had given his mother the money to pay the fine, the district court has heard.

Sergeant Trish O’Sullivan said that on January 20, 2025, at 6.26pm, a garda speed check on the Macroom bypass in Co Cork detected Martin Joseph McElligott, aged 22, of Fahavane, Kilflynn, Co Kerry, driving at 127km/h in a 100km/h zone.

McElligott, who was heading west towards Kerry, was issued a fixed penalty notice for the offence, but failed to pay it.

McElligott told the court that he was “up the country” and had given the money to his mother to pay the fine, but she had forgotten about it.

Defence solicitor Sean Cahill said McElligott worked for his father’s haulage company and did a lot of driving, mostly on motorways where the speed limit was 120km/h and the dual carriageway in Macroom was a similar type of road — though the limit was only 100km/h.

Judge Joanne Carroll said: “I’d say the whole of Kerry is talking about that road. It’s a very good road, and I have to watch the clock myself when I’m on it.”

Judge Carroll said it must be widely known that the limit on the road is 100km/h, and she struck out the proceedings.

• This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme