Paul Murphy and five others cleared of false imprisonment

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

Paul Murphy and five co-defendants were found not guilty of false imprisonment at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 29 June 2017. The charges related to Joan Burton and Karen O’Connell during a water-charges protest on Fortunestown Road, Jobstown, Tallaght, on 15 November 2014.

The jury returned unanimous verdicts after slightly less than three hours of deliberations. Judge Melanie Greally told the six men they were free to go after a nine-week trial, which began on 26 April.

The men had denied restricting Ms Burton and Ms O’Connell’s personal liberty without consent. Earlier that day, the jury had asked to view Garda helicopter footage while considering whether the vehicle carrying Ms Burton could have reversed away from protesters.