Garda struck by e-bike in hit-and-run yesterday
A GARDA WAS struck by an electric bike yesterday in Dublin.
During a routine patrol, gardaí yesterday responded to a report of an e-bike causing a disturbance in Porterstown Park, Dublin 15.
At approximately 2:30pm, the garda approached the bike, which had two male passengers, and directed them to dismount.
Advertisement
'The e-bike then accelerated striking the Garda who was taken to hospital and subsequently discharged following treatment for non life-threatening injuries,' a garda statement said.
The driver and passenger of the e-bike failed to remain at the scene.
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to this incident to come forward, particularly anyone with footage, as the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Blanchardstown Garda Station on (01) 6667000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Stolen Sister episode 1, recapped
The author Alice Walker once said: "Is solace anywhere more comforting than that in the arms of a sister?" This philosophy seems fitting when speaking about the sisters of Elizabeth Plunkett. Many people will be familiar with Elizabeth's name in 1976, she was brutally murdered in Brittas Bay Co Wicklow by Ireland's first serial killers, John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans. For many, justice was served nearly 50 years ago when the pair were both sentenced to life in prison. However, a parole hearing for Shaw nearly two years ago would turn the lives of this family, in particular the Plunkett sisters - Kathleen, Bernie and Joan, upside down. The women contacted the DPP, the Garda Commissioner and the State Solicitor's Office for assistance, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. So, in July 2024, they took a leap of faith and emailed their final port of call - the team at RTÉ Documentary On One. After months of work, that email has given rise to Stolen Sister, a six-part podcast series hosted by Roz Purcell that unpacks how a routine parole application rewrote the history of this case and forced the Plunkett family to take their story public for the first time in nearly 50 years. Because a lot of things you've read about the murder of Elizabeth Plunkett in books, the media or online, it's well, wrong. If you struggle to believe that, I strongly suggest you keep reading or, better yet, start streaming episode one of Stolen Sister right now. Ringsend In the first episode, the Plunkett siblings take the listener back in time to their childhood home in Ringsend. It set the scene and creates a feeling of intimacy between the listener and the family before the harrowing details of the case emerge. In the 70s Ringsend was a tight-knit community full of working-class families, and as the middle child of eight, Elizabeth ruled the roost. There were four boys - Eddie, Thomas, Liam and Sean and four girls - Joan, Elizabeth, Kathleen and Bernie in the Plunkett family. The podcast touches on the changes taking place as Ireland moved from the 60s into the 70s and women slowly gained more independence. Elizabeth's sister Bernie described the impact this changing time had on her beloved sister and how it shaped her outlook. "There was more independence. There was more work, and there was more money. So they were saying, don't stick back in the old-fashioned way like their parents, you got married, you had children, you stayed at home. This wasn't going to be a life that Elizabeth wanted." Eddie, the eldest boy, also contributed to the series; he described how Elizabeth would take over the family home on a Saturday morning and clean it from top to bottom. Throughout the series, the family speaks of the split in their lives - the world before and after Elizabeth was killed. The family home is situated on the banks of the Liffey in Dublin City, where the river meets the Irish Sea. "We were a very united, large Dublin working class family. The bond then was unique… Little did we know that all of this would come crashing down, it destroyed the peace." - Eddie Plunkett, Elizabeth's brother On a clear day, Purcell tells the listener, you can make out the Northwest of England, the homeplace of the men who would take Elizabeth's life. JS and GE At the time they murdered Elizabeth, and later Mayo woman Mary Duffy John Shaw, and Geoffrey Evans were in Ireland evading sexual assault and rape charges in the UK under new identities. Both men had been married and had children. They met in prison while serving time for robbery and assault. Before they began their reign of terror, the men were arrested for burglary and had a year-long stay in Irish prisons in Limerick and Mountjoy. They were due to be extradited back to the UK to answer the charges, so they decided to abduct, rape and murder a woman a week until they were caught. The reason why the pair weren't extradited immediately was because Shaw claimed he wasn't the same person named on the extradition warrant, so the judge released him on bail, and the gardaí had to build a case to prove his identity. Even more shockingly, this same legal loophole worked for Evans three weeks later. In 1974, as Elizabeth turned 21, Shaw and Evans were released from prison in England and within a short time, they'd brutally kidnapped and raped three victims in the Greater Manchester area - Roz Purcell, host The Plunkett sisters do not say the name of their sister's murderers during the podcast; instead, they simply refer to them as JS and GE. Damien The podcast makers managed to secure an interview with Elizabeth's close friend Mella Nesbitt, a key figure in this story. The women met while working in the De La Rue factory. A few months before Elizabeth died, Mella introduced her to her brother Damien. Damian and Elizabeth began dating, and according to Mella, they were inseparable. "I was the little gooseberry. I was always stuck between the two of them. Now I would be maybe a couple of yards behind them or I might be sitting somewhere and I could just hear the two of them shouting at one another that they loved one another." He worked as a mechanic in his family's garage in Inchicore, Co Dublin. According to the Plunkett sisters, Damien would pull up in his Capri car to collect Elizabeth blaring ABBA out the windows. In July 1976, Elizabeth, Mella and Damien took a trip to St Tropez, where Elizabeth would purchase the infamous jumper she wore the night she was killed. Damien was a really nice guy, I have to say. She was madly in love with him and I think he felt the same about her - Bernie Plunkett, Elizabeth's sister That fateful night when Elizabeth was murdered Damien got into an argument with a friend about a car, while that detail might seem irrelevant, it would ultimately alter the course of Elizabeth's life… Brittas Bay The summer of 1976 was one of the hottest on record in Ireland. A last trip to Brittas Bay was supposed to close out the summer season for Elizabeth Plunkett and her friends. It was supposed to be the kind of weekend you dream about during your 9-5, instead it became a nightmare for the entire nation. Statements given to gardaí by Elizabeth's killers, as well as her friends, are read throughout the podcast to create an accurate timeline of her last movements. It is worth adding that the statements given by Shaw and Evans are eerily detailed and not for the faint of heart. Elizabeth left McDaniel's pub at around 10.30 pm. She had grown frustrated when Damien and his friend Joe McCoy started a fight over a car. The men had bought a car together, which Damien had then sold without consulting Joe. As you can expect, within a few minutes, the men had resolved their dispute, and Damien went in search of Elizabeth. He should have found her, made up and joined their friends for a wonderful weekend in a caravan by the sea. But he never did find her, nor did he ever see her again. I put my finger on her left cheek and said, "Go away, don't be annoying me. She said, "If you do that again I'll go home". I said to her "go home then" - Damien Bushe, Elizabeth's former boyfriend Right, before Shaw and Evans preyed upon Elizabeth, they approached another woman who managed to get away - gardaí never have managed to locate this woman. I mention this as like all Doc on One series, this is an active investigation, so if you were in Brittas Bay on 28th August 1976 and have any further information on Elizabeth Plunkett, please contact us in confidence at documentaries@


Irish Post
3 hours ago
- Irish Post
Shooting at Carlow shopping centre was ‘terrifying experience'
A FATAL shooting in a shopping centre in Co. Carlow has been described as a 'terrifying experience' for everyone present. Gardaí were called to Fairgreen Shopping Centre at around 6.15pm on June 1 after receiving reports of gunshots being fired. The suspect, a white Irish man in his 20s, fired a shotgun several times as he walked through the centre, the police force has since confirmed. He left the centre and was confronted by armed, plain clothed officers, and later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Garda from the forensic technical unit pictured at the Fairgreen Shopping Centre following the incident At a press conference, Garda Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman said no one was injured by the shots fired in the centre, but a young girl, who was there with her family, suffered a minor leg injury after falling while running from the scene. 'This was meant to be a normal day out on a bank holiday weekend and it was a terrifying experience for every person present in the Fairgreen Shopping Centre that evening,' Asst Comm Hilman said. 'We continue to investigate all the circumstance of this serious incident,' she added. The police force has urged anyone with footage from the incident not to share it on social media. 'We once again urge anyone who may have recorded footage of the incident not to share it on social media or messaging apps, but instead to provide it directly to the investigating team,' she said. 'Anyone present at Fairgreen Shopping Centre between approximately 6pm and 6.25pm on Sunday, June 1 is asked to contact the incident room at Carlow garda station,' she added. Garda Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman addresses the press conference Asst Comm Hilman also paid tribute to those who responded to the incident. 'I would like to acknowledge the management and the business community of Fairgreen Shopping Centre for their assistance and support to the public on June 1, and to acknowledge the assistance of the local emergency services and defence forces for their professionalism and assistance,' she said. 'I specifically want to highlight the response of local Garda who, on receipt of a call of a very dangerous incident, immediately responded to protect their community. 'Their courage was exemplary,' she added. 'We are also very aware that there is a family coming to terms with the loss of their loved one at this time and we appeal for privacy for the family.' See More: Carlow, Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Shooting


Irish Examiner
6 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Man who fired shotgun in Carlow shopping centre had a known 'fascination for firearms'
A man with a known 'fascination for firearms' was on bail for gun charges when he fired shots in a Carlow shopping centre before fatally shooting himself. Gardaí had objected to bail for Evan Fitzgerald, aged 22, after he was caught last year with guns and ammunition which they said he admitted to having bought on the dark web. However, he was given bail on strict conditions and was due back in court on the charges this week. On Sunday, he walked through the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow firing a shotgun in the air. He then shot himself outside the shopping centre after being challenged by armed gardaí. It was a 'terrifying experience' for shoppers who fled the building when the gunman started shooting in the air, Assistant Garda Commissioner Paula Hilman said. The scene at Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow on Sunday Photo: A girl sustained a minor leg injury when she fell while running from the centre. No one other than any of the shots fired injured the gunman, the assistant commissioner said. Mr Fitzgerald, who was from Portrushen, Kiltegan, at the border between Co Wicklow and Co Carlow, was arrested in March 2024 following an intelligence-led firearm trafficking operation. Gardaí seized a semi-automatic M1911 pistol, an automatic Koch G3 rifle, and ammunition after a car in which Mr Fitzgerald was travelling was stopped at Ponsonby Bridge near Straffan, Co Kildare. 'Mr Fitzgerald has a fascination with firearms,' Detective Garda Gavin Curran told the court. Mr Fitzgerald was granted bail in March 2024. Gardai blocking off roads leading to Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow yesterday evening Photo: Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy said reports that the suspect was on bail for firearms charges is 'deeply concerning'. It is unacceptable to have such serious crimes carried out by those on bail, he said. Figures released to Mr Carthy in recent weeks showed that, between 2022 and 2024, 64 crimes were committed by those on bail for possession of firearms — while 2,312 crimes in the period were carried out by individuals on bail for possession of offensive weapons. Mr Carthy called for a wider review of the enforcement and operation of bail laws. Following the shooting, bomb disposal experts were called from Collins Barracks in Cork to examine a possible explosive device after gardaí found a bottle containing an unknown substance on the body of the dead man. However, the area was later declared safe. Multiple reports of shots being fired in the shopping centre were made to gardaí at around 6.15pm on Sunday. 'Gardaí responded to the scene and met a large number of people running from the shopping centre,' Assistant Commissioner Hilman said. 'An unarmed uniform unit arriving at the scene observed the suspect exiting the shopping centre. 'The suspect discharged a firearm — a shotgun — into the air. Another plain clothes-armed garda unit responding drew their official firearms and identified themselves as armed gardaí. 'The suspect discharged the firearm again, self-inflicting a fatal wound. 'No member of An Garda Síochána discharged a weapon. This was meant to be a normal day out on a bank holiday weekend. This was a terrifying experience for every person that was present.' Forensic investigators at Fairgreen Shopping Centre, Carlow, where a man died following a shooting incident on Sunday evening. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire An autopsy will be carried out by the State pathologist in Dublin today. The suspect was described as 'white Irish' by gardaí after far-right and anti-immigrant sentiment was being stoked online, with false rumours circulating about the scale of the attack and the ethnicity of the shooter. The Hope and Courage Collective said the tragic incident was being used by prominent anti-migrant accounts to spread false claims and conspiracies. Gardaí have appealed for witnesses to come forward. Read More 41643889[#embed5]