Love Ulster 'riot' trial comes to an end

A Dublin man will be sentenced later for throwing missiles at gardaí during the Love Ulster Parade riots in the city centre two years ago.

John O’Reilly (aged 31), with an address in Harcourt Street was found guilty of violent disorder on February 25, 2006 by a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

A press photographer had at the start of the trial identified six photographs he had taken along with 18 images on a compact disc, which were used as exhibits in the case.

Noel Gavin of The Star newspaper said in evidence that he had worked in the industry for the last 38 years and the parade that day "was a scene of considerable confusion" with many people standing around doing "all kinds of things".

Mr Gavin agreed with defence counsel, Mr Roger Sweetman SC (with Ms Martina Baxter BL), that one of the images showed people throwing missiles on O’Connell Street but accepted that it also depicted other people standing around "with their hands in their pockets".

Mr Gavin also agreed that a number of the people seemed to be taking photographs themselves either on digital cameras or on their mobile phones and accepted a suggestion from defence counsel that they were

Garda John O’Sullivan identified a man in Mr Gavin’s photographs as being O’Reilly.

He told prosecuting counsel, Mr John Quirke BL, he saw O’Reilly standing at the very front of the group of rioters throwing rocks. He then saw him standing on a median strip on O’Connell Street dropping a concrete slab and later saw him throwing two or three rocks.

He said there were 20 or 30 other people doing the same kind of thing. A public order garda van was used to force the rioters back from the top of O’Connell Street towards O’Connell Bridge, leading to O’Reilly and two others being isolated from the group.

Garda O’Sullivan said he approached O’Reilly who shouted at him "f**k off you wankers", "go fuck your Union Jack, you union b**tards" and called him and other gardaí "Free State b**tards".

He arrested O’Reilly and after getting the assistance of another colleague to lift him off the ground when he refused to move.

Garda O’Sullivan said he put him in a garda van that brought him to Store Street Garda Station and he later took O’Reilly to court when he said he asked him "did they get to march?". He said O’Reilly smiled at him when he told him they hadn’t.

Garda O’Sullivan said O’Reilly came to the garda station voluntarily in April 2006 where he denied during interview throwing anything at gardai or knowing anyone that did but claimed he was hit himself.

O’Reilly said he was not any member of a political party when asked if he supported Sinn Fein but said that he "understood Fianna Fáil’s republican policies".

Garda O’Sullivan said O’Reilly denied that the man depicted in the photographs was him but added that he heard later that the RTÉ news that night showed him getting arrested.

O’Reilly who had pleaded not guilty said in evidence on day-two of his trial: "Cars being burnt, looting of shops - that’s not the kind of person I am." The jury convicted him after 15 minutes deliberation.

Judge Patrick McCartan thanked the four women and eight men of the jury for their work on the case.