Galway hurler Jonathon Coen, has been disqualified from driving for 14 months after drunkenly taking a golf buggy onto the main road.
Coen had been attending the wedding reception of Galway player David Collins in Fermanagh last month, when he unlawfully obtained a golf buggy on a hotel premises because he could not get a taxi back into Enniskillen.
The 24 year-old was subsequently apprehended by police after they received reported sightings of a golf buggy 'weaving' along a main road in the early hours of Saturday morning, November 7.
A court in Fermanagh heard that Mr Coen was then transferred to the Enniskillen police station where an alcohol reading found that he had more than twice the legal limit in his system.
Johnny Coen at the Galway press conference in the build up to All-Ireland Semi-Final against Tipperary! #GAA pic.twitter.com/PW3ZnaEv9R
— Sportsfile (@sportsfile) August 10, 2015
A Judge declared that the buggy was not fit for driving on public roads and said that Mr Coen was lucky to avoid a crash which could have killed himself and others.
When interviewed at the police station, Mr Coen said he accepted full responsibility for taking the buggy and his solicitor told the court that his actions had been 'foolish in the extreme.'
Johnny Coen lucky to stay on the field after this high challenge at the end of the first half. #KKvGAL https://t.co/RaCcUIlX3U
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) September 6, 2015
The Judge took Coen's good character, and lack of any previous convictions into consideration when issuing his final verdict. He disqualified the hurler from driving for 14 months and fined him £250 as well as a further £100 for taking the buggy. A retest will be conducted after the 14 month disqualification period where Coen's case will be revisted to decide if he is fit to legally resume driving.
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