How She Avoided Jail: Real Cases Where Drink Driving Almost Ended in Prison

Can You Go to Jail for Drink Driving in Ireland?

Case 1: * "Mary Nolan"

If you'd seen her in court that morning, you'd never guess.

Perfectly dressed. Calm. Poised. Maybe a little nervous.

She looked like she was there to support a friend, not face sentencing herself.

“She was unable to speak… I feared she would fall over,

so I put her sitting on the boundary wall of a house.

As I did she fell off the wall and onto a wheelie bin…

But less than a year earlier, Mary Nolan had been arrested for one of the most shocking drink driving cases I’ve ever handled.

Mary had entered a plea of guilty to drink driving.

The judge was given a synopsis of the case.

The more he heard the more his face darkened.

In the end the judge told her—quietly—that had she fought the case, she’d be in prison.

This is how close she came.

It Was Just After 9am

Mary was driving through a quiet residential area in County Louth.

A weekday morning.

School drop-off time.

She swerved across the road.

Driving towards her was an off-duty detective sergeant, driving his own kids to school.

He watched as her car weaved left and right across the road, narrowly missing other vehicles. She was, he said:

“Swerving wildly… travelling on the wrong side of the road… I blew my horn and she hit my car…on the front driver’s side of my car and then drove along the side of my car…causing a significant amount of damage to my car.  

She didn’t stop. He continued:

“The car was travelling slowly, approximately 15kph/hour. I asked my kids if they were ok. They were shaken but ok. I got out of my car. I could see that the rear drivers side tyre was deflated from the impact so I couldn’t follow the car.”

He Got Out and Ran

The detective’s car was too damaged to follow. So he decided to run.

“I knew the road was a dead end… so I sprinted after the car…After approximately 400 metres I caught up to it”

Opened the car door.

And a bottle of wine fell out onto the road.

Mary was slumped over the steering wheel. Still trying to drive.

“She was unable to speak… I feared she would fall over, so I put her sitting on the boundary wall of a house. As I did she fell off the wall and onto a wheelie bin…

“I asked the driver for her name. She was unable to talk…Her eyes were glassy and when she attempted to speak, what she said was incomprehensible”

“I knew the road was a dead end…

so I sprinted after the car…

After approximately 400 metres

I caught up to it”

He saw unopened envelopes on the passenger seat with her name.

She nodded when he asked if it was her.

Then, as they waited for the Gardaí, she reached again for the bottle.

“She attempted to drink from a bottle of wine in her car. I had to take it from her.”

Another Witness: A Nurse

Behind the detective that morning was a second car. An off-duty nurse.

She saw the entire incident unfold. From the weaving, to the crash, to the near misses.

“The car went over to the wrong side of the road and drove into the side of an oncoming car and kept going. The car narrowly avoided hitting the car behind the car that was hit.

“I stopped my car…and stayed with the children and the male driver went off down the road to follow the car which had hit them…one of the kids was upset and looking for his daddy.”

__________

Both witnesses were prepared to come to court. If Mary had pleaded not guilty, the trial would have been a disaster—and the judge would have heard every word.

Instead, she pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. And because of that, the two charges of dangerous driving were dropped.

“I stopped my car…and stayed with the children

and the male driver went off down the road to

follow the car which had hit them…

one of the kids was upset

and looking for his daddy.”

But even then, the judge fixed her with a look of great malice and told her:

“You were right to plead guilty. I would convicted and jailed you.”

Her Blood Sample Was Taken Over Two Hours Later

Mary was arrested at 9:10am. Her blood was taken at 11:47am—over two and a half hours later.

Even then, her alcohol reading was 308 milligrams.

That’s more than six times the legal limit.

Which means when she was actually driving?

She was likely seven or even eight times over.

At 9am.

The reading alone was horrifying. But the timing made it worse.

Most drink driving arrests happen late at night. But this was 9am—when roads are busier, children are everywhere, and the margin for error is gone.

It’s one thing to be drunk at 2am.

It’s another to crash into a school run.

Why Jail Was Inevitable If She Fought It

Let me be clear.

I’ve defended hundreds of drink driving cases.

And most don’t end like this.

But this case was in the top 5%—in terms of danger, optics, and risk to the client.

Had she fought it and lost, jail wasn’t just possible.

It was guaranteed.

Not because of the charge itself.

But because of what it looked like. The optics were horrific:

• The time of day

• The children

• The crash

• The blood reading

• The attempt to drink more after the crash

• The witnesses: a nurse and a detective sergeant

  
  

Judges are human. When they hear things like this, they can’t un-hear them.

Their protective instincts kick in. They feel the weight of public safety—and of public perception. They imagine the headlines if they go easy.

And when that happens? They're no longer just deciding guilt.

They're deciding who they have to protect the public from.

What the Judge Didn’t See

Mary never made excuses. She never tried to blame anyone else.

What he didn’t hear in open court was this:

Mary had lived through a deeply violent marriage. Her son, now a teenager, had started copying his father’s behaviour. He too was violent.

She was drinking more. Secretly. Desperately.

And that morning, everything collapsed.

"Judges are human.

When they hear things like this,

they can’t un-hear them.

Their protective instincts kick in.

They feel the weight of public safety—

and of public perception"

To the outside world, she looked polished. Elegant even.

But inside, she was falling apart. And it showed.

She was deeply ashamed. And unlike many, she meant it.

The Result

• She pleaded guilty to drink driving.

• The two dangerous driving charges were dropped.

• She received a mandatory 3-year disqualification.

• She avoided jail.

But only just.

If we had fought it, she’d be serving a sentence now. No question.

Why This Story Matters

This isn’t normal. Most drink driving cases don’t involve crashes or kids or early morning carnage.

But that’s the point.

Some do.

And in those cases, the law might not change—but the judge’s mood does.

You can't plead not guilty just to “see what happens” in cases like this.

You have to know when the risk of prison is real. And then move fast to stop it.

Because in a case like this the judge is pointing both barrels of their artillery guns at you and you'll be blown to pieces if you keep going.

Nobody likes retreating, but sometimes its the only choice you have.

Final Word

They (the State) have to get all the elements of the offence right all the time.

You just have to create one doubt in the judge’s mind.

"Because in a case like this the judge

is pointing both barrels of their heavy

artillery guns at you and you'll be

blown to pieces if you keep going.

Nobody likes retreating,

but sometimes its the only choice you have"

But in cases like this? There’s no doubt.

Even if there was some procedural or legal flaw the judge would have ignored it and hammered Mary.

____________________________

In the movie Training Day the character of Detective Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) is busy schooling his new rookie, Officer Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawk).

In one scene Harris imparts memorable words of advice to his protégé:

“Do you want to go to jail or do you want to go home?”

Quite.  

*Names and locations are all anonymised to protect identities