A Cork conundrum

As explanations go, the one furnished by a man in Co. Cork to Clonakilty District Court seems to have been very straightforward. The accused, a 22-year-old man, was walking home after his birthday celebrations and happened to come upon his own car, upturned in the middle of the road.

As he arrived at his car, the gardaí also showed up.

The matter ended up in court.

Subsequently a garda officer told Judge David Waters that she saw the car overturned in the middle of the rural road, that it was a single-vehicle accident, and “there was nobody else at the scene”.

She said she saw the accused wandering about and “there was a strong smell of alcohol on his breath”.

The accused subsequently refused to reveal who had been driving the car.

He was duly convicted of the charge of failing to provide the information to gardaí; Judge Waters fined him €800, which made it an expensive birthday.

On the plus side the accused was very lucky. Had he been driving his car he might well have been injured; indeed were he the driver he would have lost his licence.

But it remains one of Cork’s mysteries — who on earth was driving his car?

This column is of the opinion that the identity of the missing driver may never come to light.