N7 Case: Garda appears in court charged with dangerous driving in relation to deaths of three men

A Garda facing trial in relation to the deaths of three members of a burglary gang during a vehicle chase is charged with driving in a manner “dangerous to the public”.

Garda John Francis Ryan of Tallaght Garda station did not speak during the brief court hearing at Dublin District Court in the Criminal Courts of Justice.

The prosecution follows an investigation by the Garda Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) which was represented in court by Investigator Sean Campbell.

However, no one from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions appeared for the hearing and Mr Campbell told the court he did not expect anyone to turn up.

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The charges relate to an incident on July 7th, 2021 when a car with three occupants collided head-on with a truck on the N7 between Citywest and Baldonnel.

The car had been involved in a garda pursuit shortly before the crash.

The vehicle was driving the wrong way down the road when the collision occurred and the occupants, Dean Maguire (29), Karl Freeman (26) and Graham Taylor (31), were killed instantly.

Their deaths are the subject of an ongoing inquest.

Gda Ryan has been charged with three counts of dangerous driving and one count of endangerment in relation to his involvement in the pursuit.

In relation to the dangerous driving charges, he is accused of driving in a manner “dangerous to the public” in three locations, Brookfield Road, the N82 Citywest Roundabout and Cheeverstown Road.

In relation to the endangerment charge, he is accused of driving in a reckless manner “which posed substantial risk to of death or serious injury to a member of the public”.

This allegedly occurred as he drove west on the eastward auxiliary lane between Rathcoole and Citywest.

Gda Ryan was served with a court summons by a Gsoc officials two weeks ago. News of his prosecution has generated significant anger among some members of An Garda Síochána and the matter has been repeatedly raised in the Dáil.

Family members of some of the dead men were present in court on Wednesday morning.

The garda’s solicitor Elizabeth Hughes applied for the disclosure of evidence to the defence, including CCTV footage.

She also applied for an order barring the media from reporting Gda Ryan’s address, citing the sensitivity of the case. Judge Joanne Carroll granted the order.

Judge Carroll adjourned the matter until October 4th, 2023 and remanded the garda on continuing bail.

Gda Ryan did not leave the building through the public entrance and was instead escorted into a restricted area before departing through a side entrance.