Elsewhere, another motorist was caught doing 122km/h in an 80km/h zone in Lucan, Dublin. In Cork, meanwhile, someone was driving 76km/h on the Limerick Road in Mallow – which has a speed limit of 50km/h.

A total of 156 people died on the country’s roads last year – the highest number since 2016. January of this year saw 20 people lose their lives – the highest number of fatalities for that month in a decade.

Gardaí say a third of crashes are caused by speeding and last year, around seven in 10 crashes happened on rural roads where the speed was more than 80km/h.

National Slow Down Day is a Garda initiative supported by the Road Safety Authority. It began at 7am this morning and runs until 7am tomorrow. Extra gardaí will be out in force monitoring speed over that 24-hour period.

The initiative aims to reduce the number of speed-related collisions, save lives and reduce injuries on Irish roads.

Chief Superintendent of the Garda National Roads Policing Bureau, Jane Humphries, said: “Last year, sadly, saw an increase in fatalities on our roads. We have a collective responsibility for keeping each other safe on the road and I’d appeal to all road users to think about how their actions can have an impact on the lives of others.

“We are asking all drivers to support our National Slow Down Day not just on Slow Down Day but every day.  If we all slow down a little, we can make a big difference”.

CEO of the Road Safety Authority, Sam Waide, said: “This National Slow Down Day, and indeed every day, please remember the faster you drive, the more likely you are to crash which could result in death or serious injury.

“Slow down – drive at a speed that is appropriate to the conditions and your experience and remember a speed limit is not a target.”