‘Peacemaker’ spared jail time for having slash hook during fight

A man who acted as a peacemaker in a halting site dispute has been spared jail for having a slash hook during an earlier fight.

James Casey, aged 25, was beaten severely during an attack in the Tallaght halting site. He refused to report this to gardaí but decided to take the law into his own hands by arming himself with a slash hook, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard.

Casey, formerly of St Aidan’s Halting Site, Brookfield, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to possession of an article with intent to cause injury or intimidate others at St Aidan’s Halting Site on September 20, 2015.