Man (20) admits to starting fire on a Luas which caused €5m of damage during Dublin riots

Sunday World

27-05-2025

Evan Moore was spotted by gardaí at another anti-immigration protest the following May and admitted immediately that he had been at the Dublin riots.
Workers clean up after the Dublin riots in 2023
A man who started a fire on a Luas during the Dublin riots has been remanded in custody pending sentence next October.
Evan Moore (20) of Grangemore Road, Donaghmede, Dublin 13, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to rioting, damaging a Luas by fire and damaging the windows of a Luas tram on November 23, 2025.
The riot broke out after a five-year-old girl was severely wounded in a stabbing at Parnell Square earlier that day, where two other children and a creche worker were also injured.
The court heard that the Luas service was suspended for 24 hours and the tram damage was estimated at just under €5m after seats and wiring was damaged.
The estimated cost of the clean-up by council workers after the riot was €159,000 and €115,000 worth of damage had been caused to property in the area.
A 12-minute video – a compilation of CCTV footage and videos on social media from the day – was played to the court. This demonstrated that Moore's involvement in the riot lasted from 7.05pm to 7.40pm that evening.
He could be seen moving a bin that was alight and bringing it onto the Luas before damaging windows on the tram.
Detective Inspector Ken Hoare accepted in cross-examination by Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing SC, defending, that subsequent analysis of Moore's phone found conversations with his mother in which she was asking her son to return home.
'Scumbags wrecking their own city,' Moore's mother messaged followed by a message a minute later: 'Get out before it is too late and something happens.'
Then finally she messaged him: 'Please, please leave Evan …. my heart is racing.'
Det Insp Hoare agreed with Mr Ó Dúnlaing that Moore's parents found it 'abhorrent' that their son was in the city that day and the messages found on his phone 'were reflective of his family's attitude to him being there'.
Det Insp Hoare told Stephen Montgomery BL, prosecuting, that a group of anti-immigrant protesters had gathered at the Garden of Remembrance around 3.30pm following the earlier incident at Parnell Square.
A hostile crowd gathered at around 4pm on Cavendish Row, at the bottom of O'Connell Street and the Luas line was blocked there by the gathering.
A total of 600 gardaí were deployed to deal with the riot and it was estimated that at its height, 500 rioters were involved.
Det Insp Hoare confirmed that the riot began with the burning of a garda vehicle.
Workers clean up after the Dublin riots in 2023
News in 90 Seconds - May 28th
A Luas tram was initially blocked at 4.40pm by around 10 protesters preventing it from passing onto O'Connell Street. The passengers got off the Luas but the driver remained on it until the violence escalated. He was then removed for his own safety and the tram was locked.
Det Insp Hoare said the footage showed Moore damaging widows on the Luas at around 7.30pm before he and others brought materials from a bin that had been set on fire onto the tram.
He agreed that he had got 'caught up in the moment' and that he was ashamed of his behaviour and regretted his involvement
Gardaí viewed 17,000 hours of CCTV footage and identified over 100 suspect rioters.
Moore was spotted by gardaí at another anti-immigration protest the following May and admitted immediately that he had been at the Dublin riots. His home was later searched and his phone seized for analysis.
He was arrested on May 14 last year and during interview, Moore identified himself on footage.
He agreed that he had got 'caught up in the moment' and that he was ashamed of his behaviour and regretted his involvement.
Det Insp Hoare confirmed that Moore has no previous convictions and was 18 years old at the time.
He agreed with Mr Ó Dúnlaing that the riot was 'one of the most shameful acts in Irish history'.
He acknowledged that Moore made immediate admissions when he was stopped by gardaí during the May protest.
Det Insp Hoare agreed that there were different levels of criminality involved in the riot that day which had started on the back of 'a horrific attack on a child'.
Judge Orla Crowe said a probation report would be of assistance, adding that there were 'particularly troubling aspects in the case'.
She revoked Moore's bail and remanded him in custody until October 13 next for sentence and ordered the preparation of a report from the Probation Service.