Former TD Colm Keaveney has been ordered to carry out 220 hours of community service for driving under the influence of cocaine.
Judge James Faughnan ordered Keaveney to carry out the community service in lieu of four months in jail. He also banned him from driving for three years.
Keaveney (55), of Kilcrevanty, Tuam, Co Galway, pleaded guilty to the charge at Tuam District Court on September 9th, in addition to two counts of driving with no insurance.
Keaveney, dressed in a dark coat, scarf, jeans and light brown boots, stood with his hands behind his back as Judge Faughnan delivered sentence during a busy court session in Tuam.
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The court heard the former politician had suffered a “dramatic fall from grace”, was not working, was struggling with addiction and mental health issues and living apart from his wife.
Defence solicitor Gearóid Geraghty said his client suffered an injury in 2006 after which he became addicted to pain killers before progressing to cocaine. His efforts to address his problems included residential treatment, he said.
Keaveney also had mental health issues and was taking steps to address those, the solicitor said.
After Keaveney’s brother died in 2017, his client became the carer for his two elderly parents, who died within weeks of each other in 2023, the solicitor said.
Judge Faughnan noted Keaveney’s probation report said he was still categorised as “medium risk” and also that community service might help.
The court was told Keaveney had not come to the attention of gardaí in recent times.
“He seems to have taken the appropriate course in terms of addressing his issues,” Judge Faughnan said.
Keaveney was arrested after being stopped at a checkpoint at Cummer near Tuam on June 12th, 2023.
After failing a roadside drug test, he was brought to Tuam Garda station where a blood sample tested positive for cocaine.
On separate dates in July 2024, Keaveney was stopped in Tuam while driving and not having a valid insurance disc on display.
Last year he was banned from driving for four years after he entered guilty pleas in Carrick-on-Shannon District Court in relation to failing to provide a specimen under section 12 of the Road Traffic Act, and failing to stop after a collision under section 106. Those offences occurred in October 2023, in Boyle, Co Roscommon.
[ ‘Things went horribly wrong’: How life changed for Colm KeaveneyOpens in new window ]
As well as directing that Keaveney complete 220 hours of community service, Judge Faughnan banned him from driving for three years.
First elected to the Dáil as a Labour candidate for Galway East in 2011, Keaveney 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. He did not seek re-election last year.
