Public appeal identified boy (14) looting during Dublin city riots

By Tom Tuite

A boy who was 14 when he took part in looting during mass rioting on Dublin's O'Connell Street in 2023 was identified by members of the public following a Garda appeal, a court has heard.

The youth, now 16, who cannot be named because he is a juvenile, had his sentencing adjourned on Wednesday.

The out-of-school teen, who had no prior convictions, pleaded guilty at the Dublin Children's Court to burglary of the Gala shop on the capital's main thoroughfare at the height of the unrest on the night of November 23rd, 2023.

Violence broke out in the city centre after an earlier incident where three children were severely injured in a knife attack at Parnell Square. Dozens of defendants have faced prosecution in connection with the disturbances.

The court was shown video evidence of the boy's actions that night.

Judge Paul Kelly said that the teenager was captured on "glorious technicolour" on the CCTV footage wearing a camouflage jacket as he entered the shop and "grabbed" cigarettes and a box of vapes during the riots.

He was identified following an appeal for information, and there were "two nominations by members of the public".

The boy also admitted unrelated motoring offences, for driving a Skoda Octavia he had just bought, without a licence or insurance, on May 25th last year, when he was aged 15.

Judge Kelly noted the teenager made admissions about buying the car immediately after his arrest, after gardaí spotted him stationary in traffic in Dublin.

It was also confirmed that there were no allegations of any pursuit.

During an interaction with the judge about how he spent his time, the boy said he was neither in school nor working, but added that he was helping a relative.

Judge Kelly sought a probation report on the boy as he adjourned sentencing for seven weeks. He also asked gardaí to enquire whether the shop owner wished to deliver a victim impact statement.

The boy, accompanied to court by his mother, was remanded on continuing bail.

He has yet to enter a plea to a motor theft-related charge and connected driving offences, scheduled to come before the court in April.