Michael Murphy pleads not guilty in Jobstown false imprisonment trial

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

Councillor Michael Murphy and six other defendants were on trial over the alleged false imprisonment of former tánaiste Joan Burton and her adviser, Karen O'Connell, during a water charges protest in Jobstown, Dublin, on 15 November 2014. All seven pleaded not guilty. The proceedings were reported on 25 May 2017.

Garda Fionnula Whelan disagreed with the defence suggestion that Michael Murphy used his influence to calm aggression. His counsel, Raymond Comyn, said Murphy was concerned when people became volatile, aggressive or abusive and tried to stop them. Garda Whelan said he was concerned about negative publicity and had not shown concern for anyone’s safety.

The jury was shown footage in which Murphy could be heard suggesting that protesters let Ms Burton go after 20 minutes and warning that there was potential for “argy bargy”. Garda Whelan also said his comment about giving Ms Burton sanctuary in a church was a threat to her safety. Mr Comyn suggested he had been making a suggestion to gardaí, which she disputed.

Garda Whelan agreed she had not viewed footage of exactly what Murphy said before making her statement. She said the statement was based on her recollection and denied that it was heavily influenced by video footage.

Detective Garda Richard Hansen described seeing Paul Murphy stand and sit in front of the vehicle carrying Ms Burton. Under cross-examination, he accepted he had omitted from his direct evidence that Paul Murphy had proposed a slow march to the N81. The report said his cross-examination would continue the following day.