Louth man had knives while on suspended sentence for serious assault
A man who had two knives when arrested by gardaí was on a suspended sentence for a serious assault at the time.
Brendan Cummins (30) was out of jail four months when the latest incident occurred, the circuit court was told.
The serial offender, of Lios Dubh, Armagh Road, Dundalk, pleaded guilty to having one knife in a public place at Halliday Mills, Quay Street and another at Dundalk Garda Station on October 26 last.
He has 34 previous convictions and was under a heavy prison escort to hear his fate.
A jury had been empanelled for a trial but before the case opened, the defendant entered pleas of guilty to both charges on the indictment.
Evidence was given that he was released from a Dublin Circuit Court sentence the previous June. There was a suspended element to that sentence.
Gardaí wanted to speak to him about an alleged incident on the following September 5.
Det Gda Chris Hennessy testified that at around 8pm on October 26, gardaí became aware that Mr Cummins may have been at the scene of a reported disturbance at Halliday Mills.
The officer was accompanied by members of the Armed Support Unit when he knocked at one of the apartments there.
The door was opened by the defendant. He was directed into the corrider where he was arrested in connection with the alleged matter in September.
A search of him yielded a black-handled knife, of 9 inches with a 3.5 inch blade when fully opened. It was folded.
At the garda station a smaller blue-handled knife with a one-inch blade was found on Mr Cummins. It too was folded.
Det Gda Hennessy continued that the accused had 34 previoius convictions, including for Section 3 and Section 2 assaults, burglary, intimidation of a witness, endangerment, threats to kill or cause damage and possession of knives.
He had spent all but 9 months of the last 15 years in custody.
The witness agreed with defence counsel Stephen Faulkner BL that Mr Cummins had been witness to and a victim of violence as a young person.
A vast amount of his time in prison has been spent in solitary confinement on 23-hour lockdown.
He has been on remanded on these charges since the offences occurred.
Mr Faulkner submitted that the knives were closed and not produced. His client had been in an apartment and not on the street.
The defendant was troubled by what he witnessed as a young man.
He had family support. His mother and brother were in court.
Judge Dara Hayes said that these offences were committed in the currency a suspended sentence. It was accepted that the knives were not produced and were folded.
He added that Brendan Cummins was attended in court “by a significant number of prison officers in protective equipment”.
Twelve-month concurrent sentences were imposed, backdated to October 26, 2025.
He was remanded in custody to Dublin Circuit Court on May 5 for a Section 99 re-entry in respect of the suspended sentence.
An order was made for forfeiture of the knives.