Eric Harcourt sentenced for violent disorder at Cloverhill

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Eric Harcourt was sentenced to six months in prison for violent disorder at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Martin Nolan ordered the sentence to run consecutively to his existing jail term, which was due to expire in April 2019.

Harcourt pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Cloverhill Prison in Clondalkin, Dublin, on 29 July 2015. The proceedings were reported on 19 December 2017.

Detective Garda Donal Daly said a prison officer saw Harcourt help carry a goalpost to an observation hub, where it was used to smash windows and rip razor wire off the roof. Prison officers then saw Harcourt climb onto the roof and smash windows with a metal pole. Daly said Harcourt was seen throwing debris onto officers below.

Prison officers used hoists to bring a negotiator and Harcourt’s grandmother to roof level to try to persuade him to come down. He eventually descended at 1.30am, after the riot had begun around 11am the previous day.

Daly agreed with defence counsel Ronan Munro SC that nothing happened on the roof for long periods after the violent disorder had ended. He also agreed that Harcourt had very low cognitive ability and was one of the youngest prisoners in the yard. Munro said Harcourt had support from his family and girlfriend.