Courts / Dublin / Report

Lawyers for man filmed firing assault rifle in suburban Dublin garden ask court for leniency

Summary

In a Special Criminal Court hearing, lawyers for Eric O'Driscoll, aged 22, requested maximum leniency in sentencing for a firearms offence. O'Driscoll was filmed on a phone video taking a .223 calibre Remington AR‑15 semi‑automatic rifle from another man and firing it from the rear of a Dublin home in Finglas. The rifle, seized in February 2022, was in good condition and had been successfully fired by a garda ballistics examiner. O'Driscoll pleaded guilty in January 2022 to possession of the rifle at that address, with circumstances suggesting unlawful possession. He also faces charges of reckless discharge of a firearm and possession of a .380 ACP calibre Ingram M11 sub‑machine gun. The court will consider a probation and governor's report before deciding the sentence. The maximum penalty for the offence is 14 years, but the counsel argued for a lower, rehabilitative sentence.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Lawyers for man filmed firing assault rifle in suburban Dublin garden ask court for leniency. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• February 2022 Hearing Or Sentence
• June 2022 Incident
• January 2024 Incident
• January 9, 2022 Adjournment
• January 1, 2022 Incident
• 2025-01-13 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report