Garda jailed for one year over assaults on teenager

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

Lorcan Murphy was sentenced to three years in prison, with the final two years suspended for two years on strict conditions, for assaulting a teenager in Dublin. Judge Pauline Codd imposed the sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 3 February 2026.

Murphy, 32, of Pearse Street Garda Station, had pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault causing harm under section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. A jury unanimously convicted him of both counts after a trial in July 2025. The proceedings were reported on 3 February 2026.

The assaults on the then 17-year-old happened on Essex Street and at Pearse Street Garda Station on 1 June 2021. The teenager suffered a fractured skull and a brain bleed after Murphy brought him to the ground while he was handcuffed; he later fully recovered. At the station, Murphy pulled his hair and applied pressure to his chest.

Murphy had claimed the leg sweep was a legitimate containment technique he was trained to use and that the chest rub at the station was a first aid technique. The jury rejected those explanations. Judge Codd said the force was unnecessary and disproportionate. She noted that the Director of Public Prosecutions accepted Murphy had acted recklessly rather than intentionally and was justified in making the initial arrest.

The judge took the station assault into account when sentencing. She made no order for an offered €10,000 compensation, saying it would not benefit the injured party at that time because of his addiction issues. The court was told the teenager did not wish to engage in restorative justice.