Mother led mob to repel gardaí

A crowd led by a mother of 17 and two of her sons repelled two gardaí as they tried to seize a powerful car in which five balaclava-clad men were travelling, a court has heard.

Garda Lesley Maloney and Garda Padraig Cronin were put in fear for their lives as Bridget Ryan, aged 56, and her son Roger Ryan, aged 30, called on up to 15 others who emerged from their home in Rathkeale.

Both Ryans, with an address at Fair Green, Rathkeale, Co Limerick, yesterday pleaded guilty at Limerick Circuit Court to a charge of violent disorder.