Ireland

Four appear in court over Newtownmountkennedy incident

Public order gardai were called to an incident at a site earmarked for asylum seekers at Trudder House, outside Newtownmountkennedy on Thursday.

Garda at a closed road in Newtownmountkennedy after protests near Trudder House
Garda at a closed road in Newtownmountkennedy after protests near Trudder House (Brian Lawless/PA)

Four people have appeared in court charged in connection with a public order incident in Co Wicklow on Thursday night.

Gardai were called to a site earmarked for asylum seekers at Trudder House outside Newtownmountkennedy on Thursday.

Six arrests were made during what the Garda described as “serious public disorder”.

On Friday, four people from Newtownmountkennedy appeared at Bray District Court in connection with the incident.



Gardai at a closed road in Newtownmountkennedy after protests near Trudder House
Gardai at a closed road in Newtownmountkennedy after protests near Trudder House (Brian Lawless/PA)

Shane Synnott, 19, of Season Park, Michael Synnott, 56, of the same address, Ben McNulty, 41, of Rossmore Avenue, and Sharon McCann, 39, of Mountainview Drive, were charged with the same offence which involved failing to abide by Garda instructions.

The charge relates to loitering in a public place without a reasonable excuse, leading to concern for the safety of people, property or public place – and failing to comply with a Garda instruction to leave.

Michael Synnott appeared in court wearing a hi-vis yellow T-shirt and workers’ pants while Shane Synott was wearing a black Nike T-shirt and cream sweatpants.

McNulty was wearing a navy t-shirt and workers’ pants while McCann appeared in blue jeans and a cream fleece.

Inspector Niall Kennedy told Judge Nicola Andrews that none of the four made any reply to the charges under caution.

Talking about the incident more generally, he said gardai had been dealing with a “large-scale public order incident” at the site and were required to be there to ensure that workers were not interfered with by protests that had become “highly vocal”.

He said that by 7pm on Thursday, some protesters became involved in alleged illegal activity.

Mr Kennedy said a “mob” had set fire to property and that Garda vehicles had been damaged, including the smashing of a windscreen and the slashing of tyres.

He told the judge arrests were made to prevent damage to property and injury to people.

He said gardai had been met with a “relentless, prolonged and extremely dangerous” level of violence, and there may be further charges relating to the incident.

The four accused were ordered to abide by a curfew at their home addresses between 8pm and 8am, not to engage in protest activity in Newtownmountkennedy, and to stay away from River Lodge, Trudder House and the surrounding area.

They were each remanded on bail of their own bond of 1,000 euro to appear in court again on May 9.