A jury has been sworn in for the trial of Solidarity TD Paul Murphy and six others who are accused of the false imprisonment of former tánaiste Joan Burton in November 2014.
They are also accused of falsely imprisoning her adviser, Karen O'Connell, during a water charges protest in Jobstown in Dublin.
All seven defendants have pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning Ms Burton and her adviser in Jobstown in Dublin on 15 November 2014.
The defendants are Mr Murphy, 33, from Kingswood Heights in Tallaght; Councillor Michael Murphy, 53, from Whitechurch Way in Ballyboden in Dublin; Councillor Kieran Mahon, 39, from Bolbrook Grove in Tallaght; Scott Masterson, 34, from Carrigmore Drive in Tallaght; Frank Donaghy, 71, from Alpine Rise in Tallaght; Michael Banks, 46, from Brookview Green in Tallaght and Ken Purcell, 50, from Kiltalown Green also in Tallaght.
The offences are alleged to have occurred on 15 November 2014, as the tánaiste was attending a graduation ceremony at An Cosán Centre in Jobstown in Tallaght.
The jury panel was told there would be around 74 witnesses, more than 50 of them gardaí.
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Judge Melanie Greally told the potential jurors they should not serve on the jury if they knew any of the witnesses or anyone connected to the case.
She said knowing people from television appearances or election campaigning did not preclude people from sitting on this jury.
The judge also warned them they should not serve on the jury if they had substantial knowledge of the events on the day in question over and above what was in the public domain, that would affect their ability to be impartial.
Judge Greally warned the jurors that people from the Fortunestown Road area of Jobstown and surrounding roads should not serve on the jury.
She said that people from the wider Jobstown and Tallaght area should carefully consider if they had connections to any of the parties involved.
But she said if they were satisfied they could be impartial, being from Jobstown or Tallaght did not prevent them from serving on this jury.
The jury panel was told that people employed by Irish Water or any sub contractor or anyone engaged in installing water meters should not serve on the jury nor should anyone who worked at An Cosán centre in Jobstown or in the Department of the Environment.
Judge Greally said people who had been active in campaigns for or against water charges should consult their consciences and should not serve if their views were so strong that they could not be impartial.
She said the same applied to people who shared the political views or allegiances of the defendants or of the prosecution witnesses - they too should consider if they could approach the case with the necessary impartiality.
Finally she said those who had expressed views on print or broadcast media or on social media about the events at Jobstown should bring this to her attention and be ready to describe their comments to the court.
Seven men and five women were sworn in to hear the case. The trial is expected to last at least six weeks.
