A man who took part in the Dublin riots - looting cigarettes from a Gala store and helping gather rubbish which was later set on fire - has been jailed for two years.
Jamie Robinson, 25, was acting like a "headless chicken" on the night of the riots and should have been at home with his girlfriend, defence counsel told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Robinson, of Windmill Avenue, Crumlin, pleaded guilty to one count of theft at Gala on Abbey Street and one count of rioting at Dame Street on 23 November 2023.
He has 24 previous convictions and was serving a suspended sentence for criminal damage at the time of his offending.
The riot broke out after a five-year-old girl was severely wounded in a stabbing at Parnell Square earlier that day, with two other children and a crèche worker also injured.
The court was shown footage of Robinson running into the Gala store around 8pm on the night in question with other looters, where he grabbed eight packets of cigarettes.
He was also seen on Dame Street helping to put some rubbish on the street which was later set alight by other rioters.
Garda Mark Barry told Joe Mulrean BL, prosecuting, that workers in the Gala store ran to the basement and sheltered there while the shop was looted by rioters who smashed the glass door with a hammer and damaged the shop shutters.
They were from an Indian background and found the event "so frightening", the court heard.
When they emerged later, the owner of the store was "heartbroken" by the damage, with cigarettes, wine, spirits and confectionary all taken from the store.
The shelves had been smashed and the store had to be closed for a number of days.
The total cost of the damage caused was around €87,500, the court heard.
Robinson was identified by gardaí from CCTV footage in the Gala store and from Dame Street.
When interviewed, he told gardaí he had not attended any anti-immigrant protests and had "no political motivation" on the night in question.
He said he acted in the heat of the moment.
In a victim impact statement before the court, the Gala shop owner said he was "deeply traumatised" from the events that night.
Michael Hourigan SC, defending, said his client was acting like a "headless chicken" at the time.
He noted he was not the first looter into the shop and that his role was confined to the stealing of eight packets of cigarettes.
Defence counsel said Robinson's involvement on Dame Street amounted to placing the rubbish on the street, not setting it alight.
Sentencing Robinson today, Judge Martin Nolan noted he was not a child but a young man and that he should have had more sense.
He said looting is a serious matter and that Robinson deserved a custodial term.
He jailed him for two years from today's date.
