Courts

Colm Keaveney drug driving case adjourned until June

Former TD and sitting Fianna Fáil councillor accused of driving under influence of cocaine

Colm Keaveney was a Labour and Fianna Fáil TD. Photograph: Cyril Byrne/The Irish Times
Colm Keaveney was a Labour and Fianna Fáil TD. Photograph: Cyril Byrne/The Irish Times
John Fallon
Tue Apr 09 2024 - 12:00

A former TD accused of driving under the influence of cocaine has had his court case adjourned until June.

Cllr Colm Keaveney, with an address at Kilcrevanty, Tuam, Co Galway, faces one count of driving with cocaine in his system. The offence is alleged to have happened on June 12th last year at Cummer in Tuam, Co Galway.

The case against the 53-year old, a former Labour and Fianna Fáil TD who is a sitting councillor on Galway County Council, came briefly before Tuam District Court on Tuesday morning.

Cllr Keaveney was not in court for the short hearing.

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It is alleged he drove a vehicle with cocaine in his system and that the concentration of the drug – known as Benzoylecgonine – in his blood was greater than the legal threshold, contrary to the Road Traffic Act of 2010.

Cllr Keaveney was first elected to the Dáil as a Labour candidate in 2011. He then became an Independent before joining Fianna Fáil in 2013.

He lost his Dáil seat in 2016 but was elected to Galway County Council as a Fianna Fáil candidate in 2019.

Defence solicitor Gearoid Geraghty said he had got disclosure and he needed to speak with his client. He applied for an adjournment.

Judge James Faughnan granted the request. The case has been put back to a sitting of Tuam District Court on June 11th for a plea or a date for hearing.