Thomas Fox jailed for five and a half years over attack on garda during Dublin riots

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

Thomas Fox was jailed for five and a half years for his role in the livestreamed assault of Sergeant Brendan Eddery during the Dublin riots. The proceedings were reported on 8 October 2025.

Fox pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to riot, violent disorder, burglary of Foot Locker, interfering with the mechanism of a bus, and assault causing harm to Sgt Eddery. He also admitted possession of cocaine for sale or supply. The Director of Public Prosecutions accepted the assault plea on the basis of joint enterprise.

Judge Martin Nolan imposed a five-and-a-half-year custodial sentence for the six offences. He accepted that Fox had demonstrated remorse and offered a sincere apology to the sergeant.

Sgt Eddery said his wife had an asthma attack after seeing the video of the assault, while his teenage daughter thought he had been killed. He said he suffered injuries, nightmares and sleep deprivation.

Fox initially denied being in footage of the riots but later accepted that he was in the video. Detective Inspector Ken Hoare said Fox was involved in the riots for about four hours. Fox was arrested on 22 July 2024; gardaí found cannabis, crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia. Defence counsel Michael Hourigan said Fox had been living on the streets at the time of the riots and had suffered drug addiction from a very young age.