A man who was caught by gardaí slashing the cheek of an acquaintance in broad daylight will be sentenced next October.

Darren Gallagher (46) was spotted by Garda Dominic Dowling slicing his victim, who is “known to gardaí”, with a Stanley blade outside a supermarket before “casually walking” away. It was 4pm and the plain clothes garda was on routine patrol at the time.

Gallagher was stopped minutes later and a knife was found in his tracksuit bottoms. He later claimed in garda interview that the victim had threatened both him and members of his family, although Gda Dowling said he was ….read more

(Pictured: Accused Mr Frank Donaghy. Credit: Collins)

The trial of six men accused of falsely imprisoning the former Tánaiste Joan Burton has heard that a a peaceful protestor is charged with an offence that could potentially result in a life sentence.

Solidarity TD Paul Murphy (34) and five other men have pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to falsely imprisoning Ms Burton and her adviser Karen O’Connell by restricting their personal liberty without consent at Fortunestown Road, Jobstown, Tallaght on November 15, 2014.

In his closing arguments to the jury Padraig Dwyer SC, defending Frank Donaghy (71), who said he only ….read more

A Luas driver who stabbed his ex-girlfriend’s former partner in the neck with a blade has been spared a jail term.

The court heard Mark Nolan (46) was in a “state of grief” as his eight-year-old son had died of cancer about two months previously. He was also intoxicated and on anti-depressants.

Nolan of Parnell Close, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Luke Kelly causing him harm on December 12, 2015. He has no previous convictions.

Garda Brian Concannon told Elva Duffy BL, prosecuting, that Mr Kelly had come to the assistance of his former partner when she ….read more

A recycling company has been fined €25,000 for breaches of their agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency after it transferred waste to five unlicensed sites and failed to keep adequate records.

A representative of Greyhound Recycling and Recovery (GRR) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on the company’s behalf to breaches of both the Environmental Protection Act and the Waste Management Act in that it transferred waste to unlicensed sites in Kildare, Dublin and Laois on dates between April and June 2012.

The company also admitted failing to keep records of the recycling of waste, providing false and misleading information and ….read more

A father of four who falsely claimed jobseekers allowance for two years despite receiving over €136,000 for delivering leaflets during that time has been given an 18 month suspended sentence.

Jerry Sangola Mbumbi (40) began working as a contractor with a publicity mailing group in June 2013 and over the following two years submitted invoices totalling €136,338 for completed work. Over the same time he received more than €26,000 in jobseekers allowance.

Mbumbi of Ard Mor Drive, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to making a false declaration and failing to notify the Minister for Social Protection of the ….read more

A woman who stole over €28,000 from the State by claiming job seekers allowance while she was working said she did so because she was under pressure to pay her daughter’s drug debts.

Bridget Dwane (55) told Social Welfare Inspector Frank O’Reilly while questioned about the fraud: “My daughter is in a terrible state”. She said she owed money to dealers and Dwane had taken out a credit union loan of €6,000 to pay them off.

Dwane, of Emmet Sqaure, Blackrock, Dublin came forward to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on signed pleas of guilty from the District Court. She later confirmed the ….read more

A landscape gardener who attacked a stranger with a glass around the time of the Easter 1916 Commemorations after insulting the man about being from Northern Ireland has been jailed.

Jason Wall (31) of St Patrick’s Close, Monkstown, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Kieran Nelson causing him harm in Blackrock, Dublin on April 27, 2016. He has 14 previous convictions which were all dealt with in the District Court.

Judge Karen O’Connor said it had been a “violent and gratuitous attack” which left the injured party embarrassed by his appearance. She said Wall started being quite offensive ….read more

(Pictured: Paul Murphy TD. Credit: Collins)

A garda has told a jury that she feared for her safety and the safety of the then Tánaiste Joan Burton and her aide as she escorted the women through a crowd at an anti-water charges protest in 2014.

Garda Fionnuala Whelan was giving evidence in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on day 19 of the trial of Solidarity TD Paul Murphy and six other men, all of whom deny falsely imprisoning Ms Burton and her aide Karen O’Connell during a water charges protest in Jobstown in November 2014.

She told Tony McGillicuddy BL, prosecuting, that the atmosphere ….read more

A man who sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl after showing her pornography has been jailed for 18 months.

The court heard that Faizan Ahmed (26) messaged the girl via the Viber messaging service asking her “do you know what sex is?” and “did you ever watch a sexy movie?”. He then requested that she sit beside him so he could show her one on his phone.

“I’ll play a movie on my phone. I will show you some other day how it feel (sic),” he messaged. The victim had been playing with another child in a house where Ahmed was present.

The girl ….read more