(Pictured: Mr Colm Roddy. Collins)

Two peace activists who allegedly spray-painted red crucifixes on the runway of Shannon Airport have been acquitted of unlawful criminal damage.

Colm Roddy (78) and Dave Donnellan (60) were alleged to have cut through the airport perimeter fence to gain entry to the airfield and to have then painted crucifixes on the runway.

Mr Roddy, of Bayside Walk, Dublin and Mr Donnellan, of Reuben Street, Rialto, Dublin were stopped on the runway after walking around the airfield for about 45 minutes. They had walked towards a US Learjet and asked army and garda officials guarding the plane to ….read more

(Pictured: Mr Colm Roddy & Mr Dave Donnellan. Credit: Collins)

A belief that an accused’s actions were lawful does not need to be justified if it is honestly held, a judge has told the trial of two peace activists alleged to have damaged an airport runway.

Colm Roddy (78) and Dave Donnellan (60) are alleged to have cut through a perimeter fence at Shannon airport to gain entry to the airfield and to have then painted crucifixes on the runway.

Mr Roddy, of Bayside Walk, Dublin and Mr Donnellan, of Reuben Street, Rialto, Dublin were stopped on the runway. They then asked army ….read more

The trial of a man charged with coercive control, intimidation, endangerment and multiple assaults of his partner has continued in technical evidence.

The 52-year-old Dublin man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court charged with coercive control, intimidation, endangerment and multiple assaults of his then-partner.

He has pleaded not guilty to one count of engaging in behaviour which was controlling or coercive of his partner at various locations, including their Dublin home, between January 1, 2019 and September 22, 2019.

He has also pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of assault causing harm to his ….read more

(Pictured: Mr Colm Roddy (L) and Mr Dave Donnellan (R). Collins)

A peace activist alleged to have damaged an airport runway has told his trial that his actions were a response to being “made complicit” in the “destruction and torture” carried out by the US military.

Colm Roddy (78) and Dave Donnellan (60) are alleged to have cut through a perimeter fence at Shannon airport to gain entry to the airfield and to have then painted crucifixes on the the runway.

On May 5, 2016 Mr Roddy of Bayside Walk, Dublin and Mr Donnellan of Reuben Street, Rialto, Dublin were stopped on the ….read more

A drug dealer who claimed he was using a scales to weigh cocaine for his own use has received a suspended sentence.

Jordan Duffy (23), of Glin Road, Coolock in Dublin, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply at his home on May 2nd 2019.

Today at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court Judge Pauline Codd sentenced Duffy to 18 months, with the sentence being suspended in full.

The court heard that gardaí obtained a warrant to search the house on Glin Road in Coolock where Duffy was living with his grandparents and discovered a small quantity of cocaine, weighing scales and ….read more

An alleged victim of coercive control and assault told a 999 call operator that every part of her body was injured and that “he threw me down the stairs”.

The 52-year-old Dublin man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court charged with coercive control, intimidation, endangerment and multiple assaults of his then-partner.

He has pleaded not guilty to one count of engaging in behaviour which was controlling or coercive of his partner at various locations, including their Dublin home, between January 1, 2019 and September 22, 2019.

He has also pleaded not guilty to 13 ….read more

By Brion Hoban

A woman “always had bruises on her” whenever her former workmate saw her with her then partner, a coercive control trial has heard.

The 52-year-old Dublin man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court charged with coercive control, intimidation, endangerment and multiple assaults of his then-partner.

He has pleaded not guilty to one count of engaging in behaviour which was controlling or coercive of his partner at various locations, including their Dublin home, between January 1, 2019 and September 22, 2019.

He has also pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of assault causing ….read more

A man described as “Rialto’s James Bond”, who was caught waving around an airsoft gun on the street, has received a fully suspended sentence.

Ross Kenny (28) took the airsoft pistol off of “youths” who had previously thrown snowballs at him and was “acting the cowboy” when gardaí spotted him on CCTV.

Kenny, of St Anthony’s Road, Rialto, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of a handgun at Reuben Walk, Rialto, on March 12, 2019.

Detective Garda Colm Reynolds told John Berry BL, prosecuting, that on the date in question, gardaí were monitoring CCTV cameras in Rialto when they ….read more

(Pictured: Samantha Otto. Credit: Collins)

A Filipino woman who harassed a man and poured boiling water over his face in an unprovoked attack in a casino has received a fully suspended sentence.

Samantha Otto (58) committed the “utterly unprovoked” assault on the victim following “a period of harassment” after the victim had rejected her advances.

Otto, with an address at Grosvenor Square, Rathmines, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm at Empire Casino, Burgh Quay, Dublin 2, on April 27, 2019. She has no previous convictions.

Detective Garda Pauline Collier told Karl Finnegan BL, prosecuting, that the background to ….read more

(Pictured: Judge Martin Nolan. Credit: Collins)

A judge has expressed concern that a man with an acquired brain injury who keeps committing crimes will “injure somebody badly” in the future.

Paul Rooney (30) attacked a garda after he was caught dragging a bike still attached to a bike rack down a busy Dublin city centre street, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today.

Rooney, who suffered an acquired brain injury in 2003 when he was the victim of a hit-and-run incident, punched Garda Patrick Barker five to six times in the face after he was apprehended trying to steal the bike on Beaver ….read more