A man has failed in his bid to have a car seized by Gardai in Donegal returned to him as it would be “dangerous to the public”.
Keilith Kelly had an application before a sitting of Falcarragh District Court seeking the return of a Volkswagen Golf.
Mr Kelly was not present in court and was represented by solicitor Mr Frank Dorrian.
The application was objected to by Garda Sergeant Michael Kilcoyne who told the court he believed it would be “dangerous to the public” to grant the return of the vehicle.
He said that there were concerns if the vehicle was returned that: “I believe that it will be used further in dangerous driving”.
Sergeant Kilcoyne added that the vehicle is in storage and told Judge Daly that a previous application had been dismissed by Judge Ciaran Liddy. On that occasion, Sergeant Kilcoyne said the applicant was also not present in court.
Sergeant Oliver Devaney, the court presenter, contested that as the matter was already adjudicated on, and the application refused by Judge Liddy, that it should now go to the High Court by way of an appeal.
Sergeant Devaney further submitted that the application was not properly before the court.
“It was struck out in April and there isn’t an option for a second application in the same court in respect of the same vehicle,” he said.
Sergeant Devaney added that there is a two-month window, post the seizure of a vehicle, to make an application and argued that this has not been adhered to in this instance.
Mr Dorrian said that the case was struck out because Mr Kelly was put on proof of ownership and that wasn’t available on the previous court date, while Sergeant Kilcoyne said that it was “struck out” on the basis that the applicant was not present in court.
Details of an incident were given to Judge Emile Daly. Sergeant Kilcoyne told the court that he was on mobile patrol on January 24, 2026 when he observed a white Volkswagen Golf turn from the Glenfin Road into the Blue Cedars estate. He said the vehicle reversed back out “at speed” and proceeded towards Ballybofey.
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Gardai followed the car with the blue lights activated.
The court heard that the vehicle was travelling between 160-170km/h as it approached Glenfin Street, passing a pub and turning onto Main Street.
The pursuit was topped “due to poor conditions, the number of pedestrians present and the safety of all persons”.
A Garda alert was put out on the vehicle and was seized the following morning and taken into storage.
The application was brought under section 109 A to the court for the return of the vehicle.
Objecting to the application, Sergeant Kilcoyne said that Mr Kelly has been a disqualified driver since December 2024, with that ban not expiring until December of this year.
Sergeant Kilcoyne added that Mr Kelly was driving another vehicle, while disqualified, and was involved in a road traffic collision in the Ballybofey area on June 3 of this year.
He reiterated that he would have “serious concerns” about the vehicle being returned to Mr Kelly
Judge Daly said that she was satisfied that the vehicle was seized and noted that the application was for the return of the vehicle.
Judge Daly said that the application was made outside of the two-month window and the court found that the claim for the return was, therefore, “out of time”.
The judge added that the court was not confining itself to that decision, noting that there was no evidence produced by the applicant and no assurances given to the court that the car wouldn’t be driven in a dangerous way.
“I am satisfied that the evidence is that when the car was seized it was being driven at 160-170km/h and the evidence is that he (Mr Kelly) has been disqualified from driving since 2024. The evidence is that he was driving in June, 2024 while he was disqualified.”
Judge Daly said she was satisfied that no assurance was given that the vehicle would not be used in a way likely to be dangerous to other persons present.
Judge Daly refused the application and leave was given for a possible appeal to the High Court/