Cork man who crashed van into ditch after drinking handed three-year driving ban

A Kinsale man who crashed a work van into a ditch and a wall after drinking has been disqualified from driving for three years.

Jeremiah Corkery, 29, of Roseabbey Park, Kinsale, pleaded guilty at Kinsale District Court, sitting in Bandon, to drink driving.

The single-vehicle collision happened on a back road between Belgooly and Kinsale shortly before midnight on November 28, 2025.

The court heard the van was badly damaged after it struck a ditch and a wall. Corkery required hospital treatment following the crash.

He returned a reading of 202mg of alcohol per 100ml of urine and tested negative for drugs.

Corkery had been driving a work vehicle and lost his job in the electrical sector as a result of the incident. He has since found work with another electrical services company.

Defence solicitor Daithí O’Donnabháin said Corkery realised he “could have come out the worst from it” and had been “of clean and sober habits since”.

Judge Joanne Carroll said Corkery was fortunate that nobody else was injured. She asked whether he had come to realise alcohol was an issue for him.

Corkery, who had one previous conviction for a Section 6 public order offence in 2018, was convicted of drink driving and disqualified for three years.

Judge Carroll agreed to defer the start of the disqualification until March 20, 2027, to allow Corkery time to make arrangements regarding his employment as he currently needs to drive.

The dangerous driving charge was reduced to careless driving in light of Corkery’s guilty plea and the fact it was a single-vehicle collision. He was convicted and fined €200, with three months to pay.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme