The driver of a hearse leading a funeral cortege in Co Donegal was fined and given penalty points for breaking the speed limit.
The undertaker, John Carr, was one of several hundred people fined and given penalty points in a Garda crackdown on speeding in the Mountcharles area of Donegal in June. Mr Carr, from Kilcar, Co Donegal, has been ordered to pay an €80 fine and was told he is being given two penalty points for driving at 69 km/h in a temporary 50 km/h zone.
He was leading a funeral cortege of about 15 vehicles taking a body from Letterkenny General Hospital for burial at Kilcar. Several of the other vehicles also got tickets and have been told if they are not paid by Monday they will be prosecuted in court.
About 300 drivers living in the area of the speed trap on the N56 near Mountcharles are objecting to the fines and penalties imposed on them as a result of speed camera checks on June 12th and June 15th.
More than half of those fined attended a special meeting in nearby Ardaghey Community Centre this week. They included women who were collecting their children from school. They voted unanimously to seek legal advice on how to challenge the imposition of the fines and points.
Mr Carr, who was not at the meeting, said:"I've never heard of a hearse being done for speeding before. I suppose I'll probably have to pay the fine. I'm not too worried about the points because I intend not to incur any more."
Sgt Iggy Larkin, head of the Garda South Donegal Traffic Corps, said the county council had imposed a temporary limit on a short stretch of the N56 while improvements were carried out.
He said that until the work is finished the road is unsafe for fast driving.
The surface is in a condition similar to that on the road near Navan, Co Meath, where five young girls lost their lives in a school bus tragedy last year.
Sgt Larkin said: "If the protesters don't wish to pay the fines that's up to them. They will then have the expense of going to court."
But he indicated the authorities might consider an arrangement with the cortege driver.