by Andrew Carey
APRIL Collins, whose evidence led to the conviction of Limerick gangster John Dundon for the murder of rugby player Shane Geoghegan, was caught driving while disqualified at a time when she was under 24-hour Garda protection.
A former partner of Ger Dundon, she was a key witness in the case against his brother John who was given a mandatory life sentence for murder last August.
On Monday last she escaped being sent to prison herself when District Judge Eugene O’Kelly imposed a suspended sentence with a 12 year driving ban for “flagrantly ignoring court orders of disqualification”.
After being disqualified from driving for four years in September 2010, she was back before the court in June 2012 when she was fined €300 for driving without insurance and over a dozen more road traffic related offences including driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and driving without valid documentation.
The 26-year-old formerly of Ballinacurra Weston was stopped by Garda Sergeant David Callanan at Hyde Road on November 10, 2012 driving a 1998 Cork registered car. She was two years into the four year ban which Judge O’Kelly said she was “exceedingly lucky to get at the time”.
Ms Collins, who has four young children aged between 8 years and 16 months, told Sgt Callanan that she did not have insurance at the time and was bringing her sick child to her mother’s house.
The car tax was not up top date and the NCT certificate had also lapsed.
Sgt Callanan said that Ms Collins’ previous road traffic convictions included nine for no insurance, eight for driving without a licence and three for driving while disqualified.
Judge O’Kelly said that Ms Collins was “exceedingly lucky” to escape without a prison sentence in 2012. She was detected driving on three separate occasions while disqualified and got away with a €300 fine in June and by November she was caught driving again.
Stating that Ms Collins understood she faced a likely custodial sentence, defence solicitor Sarah Ryan said that it had been accepted by the State that Ms Collins was under a great deal of duress at the time.
Her first instinct was to bring her sick child to her mother’s house on the Hyde Road.
“She relies heavily on her mother. She didn’t have a choice and she was concerned about the child who had a very high temperature.”
Asked by Judge O’Kelly how Ms Collins had access to a car despite her disqualification, Ms Ryan said that it was “parked outside”.
Asking that the court would not impose a prison sentence, Ms Ryan said her client was the primary carer for her four children as “the father of one child is serving a custodial sentence”.
“I am asking that the court put it back on Ms Collins to be responsible and if she ends up in prison then it is by her own doing.”
Stating that a message must be sent out to people who consistently breach court orders that prison is inevitable, Judge O’Kelly said he accepted the State’s evidence that Ms Collins had a sick child at the time and, because of that, he suspended a six month prison sentence for two years.
Ms Collins was fined €500 for driving without insurance and banned from driving for 12 years.
