A man charged with “viciously” assaulting two gardaí in Ballyfermot, Dublin earlier this week has been refused bail.
A male and female officer were treated in hospital after being injured while responding to a public order incident outside a pub on the Ballyfermot Road in the early hours of Monday. Three men and a woman have been arrested over the incident.
Jonathan Dolan (46), formerly of Colepark Green, Ballyfermot and lately residing in a hostel on Manor Street, Dublin 7, faced objections to bail at Dublin District Court due to the seriousness of the charges and fears he would not turn up for his trial. The unemployed father of one is accused of assaulting the two officers and engaging in violent disorder.
Garda Grace Lumsden said Mr Dolan “made no reply” to the charges. She told the court the incident was life-altering for the two officers who had been dealing with a public order incident when they were “repeatedly assaulted by a group of four people”.
Caught red-handed
She said the incident was captured on CCTV and alleged the accused was caught red-handed.
Garda Lumsden agreed with defence solicitor Tony Collier that following his arrest, Mr Dolan was taken to hospital because he had a broken knuckle. He was brought back to Clondalkin Garda station with his hand in a cast and charged on Tuesday evening.
Garda Lumsden said both officers were “viciously assaulted”. While they had been released from hospital on Tuesday, it was unknown when they would return to work, she said. She said a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions with a recommendation for trial on indictment.
Judge Paula Murphy noted that the garda’s evidence that the accused did not remain at the scene was disputed by the defence. She refused bail and remanded Mr Dolan in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on Friday.
Co-defendants Anthony Grogan (54), of Cherry Orchard Park, and Steven Byrne (35), of Ballyfermot Avenue, have been charged with the same offences as Mr Dolan. A woman in her 50s was released from custody on Monday and is scheduled to appear in court at a later date.