RUSH-hour motorists drove on and ignored a young woman's screams as two men tried to drag her by the hair from her parked car, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.
Judge Cyril Kelly expressed dismay that so many Dubliners had turned a blind eye to the woman's plight and continued "sailing on blissfully" down Church Street, one of the city's busiest arteries.
The street was also within sight of the Bridewell, one of the busiest Garda stations, he said.
It was an "extraordinary indictment" that the only civilian to come to the victim's aid was an English tourist who told the men to leave the woman alone.
"Have we reached a stage that we are now no more than units of traffic going home from A to B with total disregard to what is going on around us?" Judge Kelly asked.
Garda Siobhan Redpath said she and another off-duty garda happened to be walking out of the Bridewell when they heard the woman's cries for help. Her attackers tried to escape but were arrested after a chase.
When one of them, Andrew (aka Jason) Williams, appeared for sentence, Judge Kelly said he "wanted to jail him for more than three years. However, he could not do so as this sentence had already been imposed on his co-defendant.
Williams (23), of Cloverhill Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, pleaded guilty to the attempted theft of Ms Josephine Ward's car on August 12th, 1996.
In December another judge jailed Williams's accomplice for three years with a review listed for December.
Judge Kelly noted this man had 36 previous convictions as opposed to Williams's four.
He imposed a three-year sentence on Williams and listed the case for possible review on July 27th, 1998. He was doing so to ensure Williams would be kept in custody until then, he said.
He also requested both probation and prison reports and the results of drug testing for the review hearing.
Garda Redpath told prosecution counsel Ms Isobel Kennedy that Ms Ward was giving a lift to her sister who had business in the Bridewell.
Ms Ward parked her car in Church Street to wait for her sister to return when she noticed a man looking at her. She took the keys from the ignition.
Williams got into the back seat, and fearing he wanted to take her handbag, she grabbed it.
He ordered her out of the car but she refused even when he grabbed her by the hair. He tried to drag her out of the car.
Garda Redpath agreed with, Judge Kelly that even though it was broad daylight and Ms Ward screamed, none of the drivers in the rush-hour traffic stopped to assist her.
At one stage, Ms Ward was, forced out of the car but got back in. Williams told his companion to get in and suggested they drive off with Ms Ward still in the car, the garda said.
She said an English tourist, who had been standing at a bus stop, came over and told the men to leave the victim alone.
The witness and another garda on a meal break intervened then and arrested the two men, who were quite aggressive.
Garda Redpath agreed with Mr Eamonn Leahy, defending, that Williams had been a drug addict.
Williams claimed he and the other man had taken a cocktail of the heroin-substitute, physeptone, pills and two bottles of wine.
Mr Leahy said he could not argue with the evidence that Williams was the main protagonist in the "spontaneous madness".