Patrick O’Brien given suspended nine-month sentence over airsoft grenade incident

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

Patrick O’Brien was given a nine-month sentence, suspended on conditions, after pleading guilty to possessing an airsoft grenade at the IBIS hotel in Clondalkin on February 16, 2025. Judge Martin Nolan said the incident caused major disruption when Clondalkin Garda Station was evacuated.

The court heard that O’Brien, then 18, threw two grenades in the hotel’s underground car park. One was thrown towards a man investigating the first disturbance; the man took it to the Garda station, where it was treated as a possible bomb until a disposal unit determined it was safe.

The judge said he accepted the incident was an act of stupidity and noted O’Brien’s young age at the time. The report said he had no previous convictions.