Irish speaking driver wins his speeding case in Kildare court

An Irish speaker who was prosecuted for speeding while driving through a Kildare townland was found not guilty at Naas District Court.

John Patrick Dunphy, 53, whose address was given as 8 Grange Terrace, Deans Grange, Blackrock, County Dublin was stopped at Kilmead, near Athy, on August 6, 2023.

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Garda Kevin Byrne  told the court he was operating a speed checkpoint shortly after 3pm when the defendant was detected driving at 96 km/h in a 60 km/h zone.

He said he issued a fixed charge notice.

The defendant, who questioned the garda in Irish via an Irish-speaking translator, argued that the location was incorrect.

He handed a map into court as evidence in support of his case. He said the location should have been referred to as Youngstown, rather than Kilmead. He argued that the road does not run through Kilmead, but Youngstown.

The court was told by the prosecuting garda that the mobile device used by the garda is calibrated using GPS technology, which provides an exact location.

Judge Desmond Zaidan noted that the maps provided by the defendant indicated that both townlands shared a common border. 

Finding the defendant not guilty, Judge Zaidan noted that while by and large GPS technology is good, there can be errors.