Cork woman caught driving while disqualified in “most unfortunate situation”

A woman who was caught driving while disqualified found herself in “a most unfortunate situation”, according to the presiding judge at a recent sitting of Clonakilty District Court.

Court presenter Sergeant Tom Mulcahy told the court that Pascalene Daly, 52, of The Bungalow, Deelish, Drimoleague, Co Cork, was observed by a local garda driving at Shanacrane East, Dunmanway, on August 13, 2025, at 1.35pm.

The garda suspected that Daly was disqualified from driving and stopped the car. It was confirmed that Daly was disqualified and had no licence or valid insurance.

The court was told that Daly had been disqualified from driving for four years on June 4, 2025, and that Daly had three previous convictions, two for driving without insurance and one for failing to produce valid insurance.

Defence solicitor Conrad Murphy said that Daly lived in a remote, rural location and was the sole carer for her older sister, who has Down syndrome.

He said that Daly’s first no-insurance conviction resulted in a two-year disqualification, because she did not appear in court.

Convicted

The court heard that Daly was then convicted a second time within a three-year period, which incurred a mandatory four-year disqualification.

Mr Murphy said his client had been driving since she was 18 and had a long history of working in bakeries and then as a home help. He said that she was the sole carer for her older sister and this had limited her ability to work.

Mr Murphy said that Daly could not afford to pay increasing insurance premiums and should have dealt with her initial conviction differently.

He asked judge Joanne Carroll not to impose a custodial sentence, given Daly’s difficult home circumstances.

Judge Carroll said it was “a most unfortunate situation” that had arisen, because Daly had “not dealt with her affairs properly”. The judge said it was “regrettable in the extreme”, but she had to convict Daly for driving while disqualified.

The judge said that Daly had driven on two occasions with no insurance and “that’s the bottom line” and the penalty was out of her hands.

Daly was convicted of driving while disqualified and was given a three-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

The no-insurance charge was struck out.

This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.