A 28-year-old man who set a garda car on fire, jumped on the bonnet of another garda car and attacked an accommodation centre for international protection applicants on the night of the Dublin riots last year said he was not racist but got "caught up in the thing" and "did it without thinking".
Declan Donaghey from William Street in Dublin, who pleaded guilty to five charges including arson, criminal damage and violent disorder on 23 November 2023, later admitted to gardaí that he "he made himself look like a scumbag".
Judge Orla Crowe remanded him in custody for sentencing later this week.
He is the first of the Dublin rioters to be convicted at Circuit Court level.
The Dublin riots were, the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told today, "one of the greatest examples of public disorder in the history of the State".
Following an attack at a school on 23 November last year, gardaí established a crime scene but "an increasingly hostile crowd" gathered and tried to breach it. Gardaí had to push the crowd back.
Extra gardaí including the public order unit were called in, but the crowd noticed and turned on them and gardaí were assaulted. One fell and was picked up by a colleague.
One of them who stayed with the garda van on Parnell Street became isolated and rubbish bags and missiles, including glass bottles, were thrown at him.
Court told of 'burn him out' shouts
He got into the van and attempts were made to damage it and two wheelie bins were thrown at him amidst shouts of "burn him out".
Detective Inspector Ken Hoare told the court he could not get out, his life was in danger as the van came under sustained attack.
Four gardaí who came to rescue him were also attacked, forced to flee and chased off Parnell Street before the garda was brought to safety.
They could hear crowd encouraging each other to attack. The crowd also turned on a fire truck when it arrived.
Once sufficient resources were in place, the crowd was corralled and pushed down towards O'Connell Street.
A Luas and a bus was also set on fire also after it had been abandoned by the driver and passengers.
Sixty different locations were damaged or looted including the Holiday Inn and Good Day Cafe on Parnell Street where the windows were smashed and the furniture taken and used as missiles.
Dublin City Dorms on Parnell Street, which at the time housed 90 international protection applicants, was attacked.
The manager brought down the internal shutters after he was shown footage of the riots on Facebook Live as the crowd smashed the windows, threw missiles including a keg at the shutters and shouted "get out".
There were 50 people inside who turned off the lights and waited 90 minutes, effectively "under siege".
CCTV footage
CCTV footage was shown to the court of Donaghey over a two-hour period that day from between 5pm and 7pm.
His movements were tracked and from 5.20pm he covered his face and put his hood up.
He can be seen throwing a red wheelie bin at one garda car on Parnell Street and jumping on the bonnet, smashing the windscreen of another.
He is also seen opening up the back door of a garda car, crossing the road, picking up a box on fire and putting into the back seat of a garda car before closing it and jumping up and down.
He was not wearing gloves so he is then seen running back to the door handle and wiping it down to erase fingerprints.
The car was burned out. The value was estimated at over €20,000. The cost to repair the second garda car was over €8,000.
A short time later, Donaghey can be seen on other CCTV footage attacking the international protection applicants accommodation with a bicycle saddle which he throws at the building.
He was identified and arrested and interviewed by gardaí five times. He made admissions during the final interview with his solicitor present.
He identified himself on CCTV footage and told the gardaí he was "very angry" that day because his partner’s cousin had an 8 year old child in the school where the earlier attack had taken place.
In a letter to the court he said he "never experienced a feeling like it," he was "totally traumatised when I received a call" that her child could be a victim.
He said he saw his partners family member distraught as it was "unknown if she was one of three children stabbed".
He apologised to "the Government, everyone", saying what he did was completely "out of character".
He said he was only there to "support the victims" and "did it without thinking".
Donaghey became part of 'the herd' - defence
When gardaí asked him if he felt he had made a difference he replied: "No, I only made myself look like a scumbag."
He also told the garda he was very angry about "what’s happening".
He said it had "built up; my brother was robbed a week prior by foreign nationals who couldn’t speak a word of English".
"I’m not racist," he said, adding that "nothing was being done about it".
"No one else was doing anything," he said. He added: "It was genuinely trying to protect, it was just a spur of the moment thing."
Defence Counsel Michael Bowman said Donaghey became part of "the herd", "the group mentality on the streets of Dublin that night."
He said the 28-year-old has a history of panic attacks, depression and anxiety and is currently unemployed.
He has a drugs conviction, has issues with alcohol and is currently undergoing a 12-step AA programme while waiting for a place in Coolmine.
He has been with his partner for four-and-a-half years and a six-year-old stepdaughter.
Mr Bowman also said his family were in court to support him.
A large group who were with him and had their hoods up and faces covered shouted abused as they left the court.
Judge Orla Crowe said there was "a lot to think about".
She remanded Donaghey in custody for sentencing later this week.
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