18 hours ago
Armed gardaí had to break in and remove man from his mother's home, court hears
After hearing garda objections to the accused man being granted bail, Judge Patricia McNamara refused his application under the O'Callaghan rules, citing serious concerns that the accused may interfere with the injured party if released.
The man is charged with breaching a barring order contrary to Section 33(1) of the Domestic Violence Act 2018. The order has been in place since August 2024 and was granted to protect his mother, a woman in her 60s, who lives at the address in Dublin.
Detective Sergeant Ruth Finnegan told Tallaght District Court that gardaí responded to a call from the woman shortly after midnight on Sunday, June 15. She reported that her son was at the house, despite the court order prohibiting him from being there.
When gardaí arrived, they found the man at the front door, but he refused to engage with them. He then barricaded himself inside the house, prompting the officers to call for armed support. The court heard that the back door was then forced open to gain entry. The court heard the accused man's mother was at a relative's home at the time.
The judge instructed gardaí to request that the woman come to court to give evidence. Later that day, Garda Fintan Carew told the court he had called to her home, where she told him that she was afraid to attend court and was with a locksmith trying to secure the property following the incident.
Garda Carew read out a signed statement in court in which the woman said she feared her son, that he was aggressive when drinking or using drugs, and that she no longer felt safe around him. She also claimed he had threatened to kill her and her family during a phone call that night.
The court heard that she had previously allowed him to return home when he was unwell - including when suffering from chest infections - but gardaí said that on this occasion, he had not been invited in and she was now in fear.
During the bail hearing, the man's solicitor, Padraig O'Donovan, said his client denied threatening his mother but had been threatening to kill himself.
Mr O'Donovan argued the man believed he had not breached the order, as he believed he had been staying at the home with his mother's consent.
The accused gave evidence, telling the court that he had not realised he was in breach of the barring order, and that he had returned to the house for food and shelter, claiming he had 'gone to a soup run in town' for food.
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Judge McNamara noted the O'Callaghan principles, which allow the court to refuse bail where there is a real risk that the accused would interfere with witnesses or obstruct the course of justice.
'I'm satisfied to accept the garda's evidence that the injured party is in fear,' she said, accepting the reasons given for the woman's absence from court. 'Given the circumstances and the allegations that gardaí had to break into the home, I am refusing bail under O'Callaghan Rules.'
The man was remanded in custody to appear via video link before Cloverhill District Court on Friday, June 20, at 10am.
A disclosure order was also made by the court.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.
