Teen gang held pending sentence over mob attack

Three 15-year-old boys, who were part of a gang that attacked gardaí with kicks, bites, punches, stones and bottles and hit a female garda in the stomach with a brick, have been remanded in custody to await sentence.

The three north Dublin boys, who were supported in court by their mothers, were remanded in custody by Judge Bryan Smyth at the Dublin Children’s court to await sentencing next week.

He said “this was a series of very serious events on the night in question” and added that he would deal with the issue of sentencing next Monday. Two were held in the Trinity House Detention Centre and the other was remanded to Oberstown Boys’ Centre.

A fourth 15-year-old boy who had a lesser role in the incidents was given a five month suspended sentence and bound to the peace for one year.

The four were convicted on charges of assaulting gardaí, obstruction, drunk and disorderly and breach of the peace, arising from the violent disturbance in Ballymun, which went on for over two hours, on the night of May 13 last

Gardaí from six north Dublin stations and the Garda helicopter were called in to give back up the gardaí who were attacked.

At one stage they had to retreat and regroup before going back in to disperse the youths.

The violence erupted after gardai responded to a report of a vandalism incident.

Garda Ciaran Murrihy, of Ballymun station, had said that when he arrived at the scene, bricks, bottles and stones were thrown at his patrol car. Two of his colleagues had been surrounded by about 15 youths.

They were attacked with punches and kicks by two of the defendants. While an arrest was attempted one of the defendants “came running over to me and tried to release him he bit me on my arm".

Another of the defendants threw a brick which narrowly missed Garda Murrihy’s head but it hit student Garda Catriona McHale in her stomach resulting in her having to go to hospital.

At that point the crowd of youths had grown to about 25 and the five gardaí at the scene had to pull out for their own safety but later more units arrived to assist in breaking up the violent crowd.

Garda Brian Martin of Santry station said that another of the defendants threatened to “slice me up. He said he’d follow me home and petrol bomb my house.”

Judge Bryan Smyth was also told that the gardaí were pelted with tins, stones and bottles which were thrown by youths from a fifth floor balcony.

The disturbance started at about 11.30 pm on May 13 and finished at about 2am the following morning.