Accused takes notes in court while sitting with mother

Throughout the hearing yesterday the boy — who cannot be named as he is underage — quietly took his own notes of the proceedings while his mother sat beside him.

Directly in front of the youth was the lawyers’ bench, completely covered with weighty law books, folders, and legal documents.

The boy’s barrister also confirmed yesterday that the defence did not intend to go into evidence should the case proceed.

About 150 protesters including Anti-Austerity Alliance TDs Paul Murphy and Ruth Coppinger were outside the courthouse in Smithfield yesterday evening to give their support to the teenager.

Many of the people who assembled were chanting anti-Labour slogans such as “Jobstown innocent, Labour guilty”, and “Joany in your ivory tower, this is called people power”.

Earlier, Judge John King was shown video footage of the protest.

The clips were obtained from YouTube, RTÉ, and a Garda 4x4, which at one point had been blocked while carrying the former Minister for Social Protection and her advisor Karen O’Connell.

Some protesters were seen chanting slogans while others were hurling abuse at the former Tánaiste and jostling with gardaí.

Ms Burton was hit with a water balloon as she walked from An Cosán adult education centre in Jobstown, across the road to St Thomas’s Church for the concluding part of a graduation ceremony.

She has said there was an “air of extreme hostility” at the protest and she and her former advisor said it was not safe to get out of Garda cars.

Ms Burton also said that she was concerned about the number of children present.

Ms O’Connell said she was hit on the back; gardaí had to bundle them into a car; and she was upset and began hyperventilating.

The number of protesters grew and gardaí formed cordons around the then Tánaiste to protest her.

Detective Inspector Derek Maguire described the actions of some of the protesters as being like a “rugby maul”.

He has rejected the defence suggestions that there was an agreement with protesters in relation to a “slow march”.

Plastic bottles and eggs were thrown at gardaí and the windscreen of a Garda 4x4 was broken while Ms Burton was in it, the court heard.

Short video clips taken by Ms Burton and Ms O’Connell on their phones were also shown in court.

Ms O’Connell also said demonstrators shouted at them that they hoped she and the former Tánaiste would die.

Ms O’Connell also alleged that she saw a female garda getting struck after an open can of beans was thrown at her.

When questioned months after the protest, the teenager denied being an organiser of the demonstration.

The boy also said that he was sorry for the upset that he caused Ms Burton.