A MAN WHO assaulted three gardaí and threw a gas canister at a Public Order Unit vehicle after being “swept up in the frenzy” of the 2023 Dublin riots has been jailed for two and a half years.

Don Sheridan (50) contacted gardaí to identify himself after his photo was included in the release of 99 images of individuals nominated as people of interest in relation to the Dublin riots investigation.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Sheridan is not an activist and was drinking in a pub when he heard of the events in the city and became involved. His lawyer said his involvement was not political or ideological.

He told gardaí he had made “a thick” out of himself and should not have been there, after identifying himself on CCTV footage. He gave his reason for involvement as protesting “foreigners” who were carrying blades and “what happened to that young kid.”

The court heard that during the disturbances, three buses and a LUAS were destroyed by fire, garda vehicles were damaged, and 58 premises were damaged or had items of property stolen from them.

Thirteen gardaí and five members of the public were injured during the rioting, with damage totalling ten million euros caused to the city. Gardaí reviewed 17,000 hours of CCTV during their investigation.

Sheridan of Whitestown Park, Blanchardstown, pleaded guilty to riot, assaulting three gardaí and criminal damage in Dublin city centre, on 23 November, 2023. He has two minor previous convictions.

Passing sentence today, Judge Martin Nolan said it seemed that on the day Sheridan was in the city centre and heard what had occurred. He said Sheridan and a good number of others involved themselves in the riot and caused a huge amount of damage to property, garda vehicles, and private premises.

Judge Nolan said Sheridan had been active in the trouble for over an hour and during that time assaulted three gardaí. He said Sheridan had grabbed a female garda, a second garda had to “run for his life” after a mob picked on him, and Sheridan later threw a bottle at a third garda.

The judge said Sheridan had “lost the total run of himself” and become involved in rioting and assaults. He said his behaviour was “lamentable” and it was hard to know what motivated it.

He said Sheridan had brought himself to the attention of gardaí, co-operated and made admissions. 

He noted Sheridan had a number of health issues, including a rare eye disorder and seizures, but on the evening he “for whatever reason had a burst of energy and applied himself to attacking gardaí and rioting.”

The judge noted Sheridan had a lonely life and a drinking problem. He had been homeless for a time, but that had been sorted out by a voluntary agency. He took into account that he has a good work history.

Nolan set a headline sentence of 6 years, but noted Sheridan was not in a good medical situation. He said it seemed to him that he must endure a prison sentence. He imposed a two-and-a-half-year sentence. 

“He does not look like a rioter or have the age profile of a rioter, and I don’t know why he behaved as he did, but he did”, said Judge Nolan.

Large crowd

Garda Tom McEvoy told Emer Ní Chúagáin BL, prosecuting, that as a result of an incident outside Parnell Square, a hostile crowd gathered at a garda cordon beside the crime scene.  The crowd were irate, and tensions were high.

Gardaí sought assistance to maintain and restore order, and a total of 600 gardaí from across the country were deployed in the city during the evening. 

The crowd grew to about 200 people by 5.40pm, with gardaí attempting to hold the line at the crime scene, while being charged and pelted with missiles. The cordon was breached, and gardai were assaulted by a large number of people, and garda cars were damaged.

McEvoy said tensions continued to be high as the crowd grew to 500 people, with fireworks, concrete blocks, and bottles being thrown at the gardai. The public order unit was also deployed.

Sheridan was captured on footage at the junction of Parnell Street and O’Connell Street, chanting at gardaí and jostling with the public order unit. He advanced towards the public order unit but was pushed back. His aggression escalated, and he was seen to be part of a group throwing bottles and other items. 

McEvoy described how three gardaí responded to a call for assistance from a colleague who was alone and requested urgent help. These gardaí came under constant attack as they made their way down the street. 

The crowd was very hostile and verbally abusive to the gardaí as they saw the garda who had put out the call for assistance. He had his ASP drawn and was trying to maintain distance from the crowd. They told their colleague to come with them as they feared for his safety.

A female garda in the group observed Sheridan throwing a gas canister at a public order van. She went to retrieve the gas canister, but Sheridan approached and placed her in a headlock. A colleague came to her aid, and Sheridan threw a punch but missed. Sheridan became furious as he realised they were gardaí. 

The crowd became aggressive towards the group of gardaí. A female garda described how she had her hand on her pepper spray but did not use it as she knew how outnumbered she was and feared what would happen if she deployed it. 

Missiles were flung at the gardaí, and one of the members was targeted in particular. As he retreated, a large number of people followed him.

His colleagues observed a large number of people running after him, and they were unable to find or contact him for a time until he later arrived back at Fitzgibbon Street Garda Station. 

The garda later described how he had been in fear for his life as the vast majority of the people on the street converged on him. He was pursued to Gardiner Street, with people on electric scooters keeping pace with him, until another man shouted at them to leave him alone.

At another point, a garda maintaining a cordon verbally asked Sheridan to move back several times before bumping him with his shield. Sheridan feigned moving away before removing a glass bottle and trying to hit the garda with it.  

Sheridan was also witnessed trying to get into a public order van and launching a concrete boulder at the public order unit, who were under sustained attack as they tried to move the crowd back down O’Connell Street. 

Sheridan was also captured on CCTV damaging a planter pot at the Holiday Inn premises, where a number of rioters smashed glass and looted. A total of €108,000 damage was done at the Holiday Inn, with a loss in revenue of €100,000 to €200,000.

Sheridan later nominated himself as a person in the picture released by gardai almost a year after the events. He is observed on CCTV from just after 6pm until 7.40pom. 

During his garda interview, he gave his reason for involvement as protesting “foreigners” who were carrying blades and “what happened to that young kid.” He also told gardaí he had made a thick out of himself and should not have been there.

He identified himself on CCTV, telling gardaí, “This is crazy.” He said he had been drinking, heard what had happened, and went down. He accepted that he should not have been there.

Victim impact statements were handed into Judge Nolan but not read aloud in open court.

The garda agreed with Michael Lynn SC, defending, that Sheridan had been helpful and courteous to investigating gardaí. He agreed that although Sheridan’s involvement was not political or ideological.

The garda said Sheridan seemed to have “got swept up in the frenzy.”

Lynn said Sheridan wished to say publicly today that he is profoundly ashamed of what he did and deeply sorry. He has not come to any further garda attention.

He said his client had taken the initiative to contact gardaí after seeing his photo and asked the court to give substantial weight to his cooperation and early guilty plea.

Lynn outlined a number of health issues suffered by Sheridan, including a rare eye condition leading to deteriorating sight. He also suffers seizures, a heart condition and a mild learning difficulty.

He said Sheridan had gone through a very bleak period in his life, where he was homeless and drinking. He managed to secure a home with the help of a voluntary agency.

Counsel handed in reports and outlined that Sheridan was very socially isolated, with no contact with his children and suffers from depression.