Seven Dublin men receive suspended sentences for Luas violent disorder

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

Seven Dublin men received fully suspended sentences for violent disorder on a Luas tram at Chancery Street, Dublin 7, on 6 February 2016. The proceedings were reported on 13 November 2019.

Sean Kindillon, Jamal Garamanli, Ian Baker, Patrick Dunne, Michael Farrell, Jamie Whelan and Andrew Byrne pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to violent disorder.

The violence broke out while members of a far-right anti-Islam organisation were travelling to a demonstration. Sergeant Colin Davidson said two men suffered head injuries and other passengers rushed off the tram.

Kindillon said he was on his way into the city centre to protest against the group when trouble broke out and he stepped in. Garamanli told gardaí he felt his friend Kindillon was being attacked and stepped in to defend him. He said he opposed racist and fascist groups and had previously been attacked by people of that leaning.

Judge Martin Nolan sentenced each man to two years in prison, suspended in full on strict conditions. He ordered six of the men to collect €2,500 each for charity within 18 months, and Byrne to collect €1,500 within the same period.