Irish soccer star pleads guilty to careless driving on busy Limerick road

AN IRISH international soccer player was before Newcastle West Court for careless driving.

Savannah McCarthy, aged 26, of O’Connell’s Avenue, Listowel, Co Kerry pleaded guilty to three careless driving offences at Sroolane, Foynes.

Inspector Gearoid Thompson, prosecuting, said Garda Oliver Gee was on duty at around 7pm on the N69 on June 21, 2022.

“He was alerted by an oncoming vehicle overtaking in a manner that was a cause of concern. It was a continuous white line.

He turned around and followed her. There are three alleged incidents,” said Insp Thompson, who added that in the course of

Garda Gee’s investigation he sourced dashcam footage and spoke to witnesses.

“Garda Gee is a very experienced garda,” said Insp Thompson.

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Michael O’Donnell, solicitor for Ms McCarthy, said his client has no previous convictions.

“What happened here was that she was in a small bit of a rush. There was no aspect of speed involved and all her paperwork was in order,” said Mr O’Donnell.

The solicitor said the continuous white line that Ms McCarthy overtook on was a “very short stretch of road”.

“She was passing out two cars. The sight lines were good, there was nothing seriously evasive and no crash. She is a 26-year-old professional athlete,” said Mr O’Donnell, who asked Judge Carol Anne Coolican to use her discretion not to disqualify his client from driving.The judge fined Ms McCarthy €500 on one of the careless driving offences and took the other two into consideration. No driving ban was imposed.