Two brothers jailed for separately carrying a sword in the vicinity of a Dublin school
Eimear Dodd
Two brothers who were separately carrying a sword in the vicinity of a Dublin school have been jailed.
During the incident on October 24th, 2024, Shane Farrelly (26) and his younger brother Aaron Farrelly (22) were separately seen on CCTV holding a 28-inch long sword near a primary school in Inchicore.
The school day was coming to an end and there were children and parents in the area, the court heard.
Shane Farrelly of O'Brien Hall, Gardiner Street, Dublin 1 and Aaron Farrelly of Cashel Road, Crumlin, Co. Dublin both pleaded guilty to possession of knives.
On Tuesday, Shane was handed a sentence of three years and six months with the final 12 months suspended. Aaron received a sentence of three years and six months with the final 18 months suspended.
Evidence was given that two other men were involved in this incident. Jeffrey Crowley (29) of Turvey Avenue, Inchicore, Dublin 8 pleaded guilty to possession of an axe.
He has 108 previous convictions and received a sentence of three and a half years with the final 12 months suspended earlier this year.
The fourth man has not been identified.
Garda Gareth McElhone gave evidence that the four men moved in and out of the view of the CCTV cameras during the incident. Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, said it is the State's case that the three men identified were acting in concert.
CCTV footage showed Shane produce a long-handled sword, which had been hidden under a vehicle, then hand it to Aaron.
Crowley had a long-handled axe, which had been concealed behind a wall. The four men then ran towards the school entrance before running back.
At one point during the incident, Aaron passed the axe through a fence along with the sword. Crowley then hid these items.
Aaron is also seen on the footage pulling another axe from under his jacket. Gda McElhone told the court this axe was not recovered.
Later, Aaron is seen on CCTV concealing the sword by putting it in his trousers. He then takes it out and puts it behind a wall. Shane picked up the sword and moved out of the view of the CCTV cameras.
Aaron and Shane were identified by gardaí from CCTV.
The following day, Gda McElhone said he came across Crowley and Shane while on patrol.
He approached the two men, who fled.
Gardaí later found Shane and Crowley at an apartment in Mercer House, where the sword was spotted in the hallway. Both men were arrested and the sword seized.
Shane identified himself on CCTV when interviewed, but denied the sword was his or that he had had any weapons. He replied after caution to the charge: “I didn't have any articles”.
Aaron was arrested on February 5th last. He was interviewed, but nothing of evidential value was obtained. He told gardaí he has memory issues due to an injury and replied “I'm innocent” after caution.
Shane has 43 previous convictions, including for assault causing harm, possession of articles and criminal damage.
Aaron has 72 previous convictions, all at District Court, including for road traffic offences, dangerous driving, possession of drugs and possession of a realistic firearm in a public place.
Gda McElhone agreed with Oisin Clarke BL, defending Shane, that the incident lasted roughly 30 seconds.
It was accepted that Shane made admissions about his role and entered an early guilty plea.
Gda McElhone accepted that a submission from Simon Matthews BL, defending Aaron, that his client outlined in garda interview that he was the victim of an assault in early 2024 and suffered a head injury.
Counsel for the two men handed letters in from their mother, who was in court to support them.
The court was told the brothers have a difficult family background, and an older brother passed away shortly before this incident occurred. Both men have mental health difficulties and are apologetic for their actions.
Mr Clarke, defending Shane, said his client was using alcohol and tablets, but now indicates he is clean of drugs.
He said his client is “aware what will happen to him if he does not mend his ways”.
Mr Matthews, defending Aaron, handed in a letter from his client's former partner. He said his client doesn't have issues with drugs now, but they were a feature of his offending.
He said it is “not acceptable” behaviour anywhere, but most of all in a setting where children are present.
Imposing sentence, Judge Pauline Codd said it was aggravating that this incident occurred in broad daylight near a school.
“People are entitled to feel safe on the street,” the judge said, adding that it was “reprehensible” that anyone would carry a weapon in public.
“It beggars belief that people would feel the freedom to do that,” the judge said.
Having imposed sentence on both men, she directed them to place themselves under the supervision of the Probation Services post-release and urged them to co-operate adding “it's time you moved away from this life”.
