A former Galway footballer has been put off the road for three years having been convicted of drunk driving at a special sitting of Tuam Court.

Tommie Joyce (48) of Cottage, Barnaderg, Tuam had contested the case on the grounds that the Garda process was conducted in the driveway of a private residence and not on the public road.

However, Judge Marie Keane said that Joyce’s evidence did not “stack up” and there was no evidence forthcoming from the owners of this property that this had taken place on their grounds.

Joyce, a former player with Galway and Killererin, was banned from driving for three years having been more than three and a half times over the legal limit. He was also fined €350.

He claimed in the witness box that he had just two pints in Flynn’s of Lackagh on the day after having something to eat.

Evidence was given by Garda Michelle Hallinan of Tuam Garda Station of being on duty on January 26 2023 along with Garda Auston Marron between Lackagh and Abbeyknockmoy.

She told the court that she met a car coming towards her that was over the while line and seemed to be travelling at speed.

Garda Hallinan said that she turned the patrol car and proceeded to follow this black Audi A6 at around 4pm in the afternoon before it “disappeared” from view.

As they travelled along the road, they spotted a similar car parked in the driveway of a two-storey house where children were playing at the time.

Garda Hallinan said that they doubled back and found that this car was emerging from this particular driveway onto the public road, and she pulled up beside it.

She got out and spoke to the driver who gave his name as Tommie Joyce and she got a strong smell of drink from his breath. She asked him to get out of the car and he was unsteady on his feet.

She described him as being “agitated at being stopped” but he was taken to Tuam Garda Station where a breath test revealed that he had 82 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath (the legal limit is 22 micrograms of alcohol).

Garda Hallinan did say to defending solicitor Charlie Gilmartin that the Gardaí received a number of complaints about the defendant’s driving.

Garda Austin Marron gave similar evidence and said that he only knew Joyce from his footballing days.

He told the court that Joyce had pulled into the driveway of a house where there were two kids playing. He said that the owner of the house seemed “a bit frightened” by the defendant’s presence.

In evidence, Tommie Joyce, a sales manager, said that he was returning from work in Oranmore and stopped off in Flynn’s of Lackagh for something to eat and had two pints to drink.

He said that he knew that he was being followed by the Gardaí. “I know that there were reports about me to the guards,” he added.

He said that he pulled into a house as he did not want to be stopped but alleged that he was approached by Gardaí in the driveway and asked to provide a breath test, which he failed.

Joyce denied that he had returned to the public road and contended that the whole process was conducted in the driveway of the private house. This was refuted by the Gardaí.

Judge Marie Keane said that there was a “complete conflict of evidence” but said that the evidence of the owners of this property was not provided to the court.

“It does not stack up that this process took place in the driveway of a private house and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise.”

Judge Keane said that Joyce’s evidence was not credible as there would be some indication from the owners of the private residence that a situation had occurred in their driveway.

Recognisances were fixed in the event of an appeal.