Didn't know that meself until this week, Hamish. Seemingly it has ruined his private life.
Injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere - Martin Luther King Jnr.
Well I think primarily others have a duty to be protected and the focus wuld be to get him off the road. Fair Play Boy the comments are not over the top, with his arrogance and ignorance he put other people's lives in danger. Yes he may have a disease in alcoholism but he would not want to be driving then.Originally Posted by Superhoops
Interesting article by Jerome Reilly in today's Indo http://www.unison.ie/irish_independe...issue_id=12416 (you need to register)
No doubt he has a drink problem, but his biggest problem is his arrogance (driving around Letterkenny the following day in the same car he was stopped in despite knowing how high profile the incident was).
When his case comes to court, and I wouldn't bet against it being struck out on a technicality, no doubt his drink problem and pressure of work will be trotted out in mitigation. However, the court should not lose sight of the two main issues (a) despite having a drink problem and having consumed a large amount of drink, he chose to drive even though he was offered to be driven by taxi, and by doing so (b) he put others lives at risk.
The court must impose the maximum and most punitive penalty to the individual that is allowed.
Honest! I am not a secret Tim nor a closet Sham - I really am a Seagull.
And you're perfectly entitled to. You can be a b....x and an alcoholic at the same time, and while the latter should be taken into account when considering issues like this, it shouldn't be used to cover them up. Alcoholism is a terrible affliction, one of the worst out there imho, however alcoholism is an addiction to alchohol, not a licence to commit crime.
You can only get so drunk. One of my apparent weaknesses is that I drink to get drunk - sorry, I know it's unfashionable, but I don't see the point otherwise - and I'd wager that maybe once a month or so I'll be as drunk as McDaid that night. No matter how drunk I was, you wouldn't see me getting into a car and driving it.
adam
fair play. it is unbelievable the amount of people who drink-drive, in my place, rural fermanagh/tyrone/border monaghan area, so many do it, and to make it worse a lot of the police turn a blind eye to it
Alcoholism may be a reason for his crime but IMO not an excuse. Same as the "i was stealing cos of drug habit".
Does this assume an alcoholic gets lighter sentence than a non-alcoholic? How do we really know he a proper alcoholic?
Jail him and the country will really get the message he was trying to project in drink driving adds. I couldn't care less if he was a raging alcoholic, he's not above the law and deserves the full whack IMO.
Totally agree
"I always likened him to a Rolls Royce. You just used him once a week & he'd be flawless"
Townsend on McGrath
Cheers, Adam. True, when I went pintin', as we say down here, it was to absorb alcohol, absord the creac (whatever that's supposed to be!!?), and hopefully, get laid, in that order. I always thought the term mature/sensible drinking was a bit of an oxymoron. McDaid, is a wnaker, alcho or not. The booze only serves to make him worse.
Send him to the Betty Ford Clinic wing of Mountjoy and impose a decree that he joins the PTAA.He can then fully examine the consciousness of his actions.
Then again, he wants to give Ray Burke company.
If even half of what i'm seeing here is true he should do time for it.
Tragic the number of people who were on the radio on friday sticking up for him and it was all "I know he was caught drinking and driving BUT...." but nothing!!!
One guy even opined it was a shame he'd been caught ffs!!!
What are we like.
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
A country of corrupt politicians, worse that any Banana Republic, a phrase which, if Irish politicans continue to carry on as they have recently, could quite easlily be replaced with Potato Republic.
Honest! I am not a secret Tim nor a closet Sham - I really am a Seagull.
All so bloody depressing. isn't it. Yet, time after time, local cumann present some Micheal Martin type for the electorate to "choose" - y'know clean, uncontroversial, mammy's boy-type - Some mates of mine involved in politics tell me it's virtually impossible for fresh blood to rise through the ranks in these cumann as the officers (usually in place from the year dot) have their favourites - usually a son/daughter/in-law/inbred connected with retiring/past TDs.
So, the circle continues on and on and on.................
Bottom line is it's still socially acceptable, particularly in rural Ireland.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
But even aside from the 'turn a blind eye and sure arent we all doing it' culture Macy -this tosspot drove six miles* up the wrong way on a dual carriageway. He should be banned for life from driving at the least -and some form of a reckless endangerment charge should be brought too.
* source Joe Duffy himself (3/5/05)
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
Totally agree, but that’s why a lot of people have sympathy. They can't see the difference between the couple of pints and the couple of miles drive home and being absolutely paralytic and driving up the wrong side of a dual carriageway.
Perhaps there is no difference anyway, but I still have sympathy for the 60 year old farmer that gets pulled after his couple of pints in his local village, something he's been doing for 40 years no bother....
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
IMO theres a huge difference. Punishment has to fit the crime. Big difference between someone taking a chance at 2-3 pints & not having the sense even when paralytic not to get into the car.
Exactly how drunk does someone have to be to firstly taking roundabout the wrong way (lets say was innocent mistake) but then not to realise was going the wrong direction on a dualcarraigeway. Clearly so wasted be lucky to stand in the later case.
exactly.
Spot on pete. In fairness, there's a difference between driving when you're over the limit (i.e. drink driving) and drunk driving. Neither is a good idea, obviously, but one is totally indefensible.
Good point made by someone on Liveline last week about it actually- when you fill out the form for a drivers licence, don't you have to fill in a box about diseases/illnesses and both drug addiction and alcoholism are mentioned as thing you have to declare. Did he declare it?
Before I'm accosted by any of my old mates that are lurking on Foot.ie, I should add that I did drink and drive when I was young and stupid. Only a few times, but I did it, and I shouldn't have. I'm not young any more. Neither is Jim McDaid. I can't speak for his stupidity, but I have drawn conclusions in recent days.
adam
This agreeing with me thing is getting old. Need to pick an argument
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