TWO TEENAGERS HAVE been sent forward for trial accused of the robbery and murder of Alex Coughlan in Blanchardstown after he was contacted and befriended through the gay dating app Grindr.

Alex Coughlan (37) suffered serious injuries after he was assaulted on Mill Road on 17 May and was found unconscious.

He was brought to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown in a critical condition, where he was pronounced dead three days later.

Shortly after he passed away, gardaí charged two boys, both now aged 17, with murder and robbing the deceased of his bank cards and a €300 gold ring.

Neither youth has indicated a plea.

They appeared before Judge Shalom Binchy at the Dublin Children’s Court today.

Judge Binchy considered whether the youths should face trial for all offences in the Central Criminal Court, or if the robbery charges should be dealt with in the Children’s Court.

Following an outline of the prosecution evidence, defence arguments, and State submissions that the cases were inherently linked, the judge refused to sever the robbery charge.

She held that both Youth One and Youth Two, who were aged 16 at the time of Mr Coughlan’s death, would be sent forward on two charges each to the Central Criminal Court for trial, where the matter will be listed in the next legal term.

They remain in custody on remand.

Accompanied by one parent each, the State served books of evidence on the pair, who faced separate hearings and did not address the court.

Alex Coughlan’s father, John, attended their proceedings, as the boys were sent forward for trial. He stepped out momentarily as video evidence from the incident was played.

Outlining the allegations, Garda Sergeant Paul McMahon alleged that at 4.15pm on 17 May, following an arranged meeting at Mill Road between Alex Coughlan and the two defendants.

Mr Coughlan was attacked by both accused, it was alleged.

The court heard that property was stolen during the incident, including a gold ring, an AIB bank card, and a Revolut card, which was subsequently used to make purchases in local shops within minutes.

A forensic examination of Youth One’s phone established that, the day before, he had been in contact with the deceased through the Grindr application.

It is alleged that Youth One had Mr Coughlan’s phone number saved on his device under the contact name “Prey two,” and that they had arranged to meet at Millennium Park, adjacent to the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, where there are a number of secluded areas.

McMahon alleged that both youths used the dating app to identify their target and arrange meetings to attack the deceased.

A post-mortem examination established that he died from head injuries and external neck compression.

McMahon alleged that just 45 minutes before the incident, Mr Coughlan and Youth One had spoken to each other for nearly eight minutes through WhatsApp.

The court heard that CCTV footage showed that the two youths met the victim at Mill Road at 4.15pm. It was alleged that Youth One beckoned his co-defendant to walk behind them, and that he and Alex Coughlan went into a secluded area among some bushes.

They emerged a few minutes later; Mr Coughlan came out first, followed by Youth One. It was alleged that Youth One told his co-defendant that the deceased had tried to touch him, and that shortly afterwards, Mr Coughlan was injured in a sustained attack that resulted in his untimely death.

A civilian witness told the investigation team that he observed three people, including the victim, and that one person was shouting “you fucking paedo” at the deceased before he was chased by the two males, who caught up with them.

The court heard that the victim fell to the ground and received two or three kicks in a “stamping motion”.

A second witness claimed to have observed Youth One punching the victim to the side of the head, causing him to fall flat onto the ground.

The sergeant said it was clear that until then the injured party was making every effort to escape the attack, but he was persistently blocked and prevented from leaving the area.

A third witness reported to gardaí that the deceased was pleading with two males standing over and shouting at him, the court heard.

It was alleged that Youth Two said, “Get a clip around his head,” and that he filmed Mr Coughlan being struck before turning the camera to selfie mode.

It was further alleged that while Mr Coughlan was struck, Youth One told the deceased, “I will smack the fuck out of you, you fucking little bitch.”

Investigators maintained that Youth Two was recorded saying, “Give him the ring,” which was subsequently taken from Mr Coughlan.

The sergeant alleged that the two youths acted together for monetary gain and had made several purchases for vapes, and confectionery in the locality afterwards. It was also alleged that Youth Two was wearing Mr Coughlan’s gold ring, and CCTV captured this.

The court heard a witness reported to gardaí that the pair were spotted in the Blanchardstown Town Centre area trying to keep out of sight, appearing to be hiding, and peeping around the gable end of a building after hearing garda sirens from units responding to reports of the assault.

CCTV with audio reportedly included the pair discussing how they should leave the area. Youth One allegedly made €50 worth of purchases, while Youth Two spent almost €8 on a bottle of Coke and confectionery.

Youth One had attempted to buy tobacco for €27 until Mr Coughlan’s Revolut card was declined, and the cards were mostly in his possession, the court heard.

On arrest, Youth One told gardaí, “You understand how he’s a paedophile. You will see why I did it,” the court heard.

Later at Blanchardstown Garda Station, he took a cell mattress, placed it against the wall, and began punching it.

When asked by the duty sergeant why he was doing that, he allegedly responded by saying, “It is because he is a paedo. I’m going to tell them. Just wait,” the court heard.

Judge Binchy heard that when Youth Two was arrested at his home in the following days, Mr Coughlan’s gold ring was in his waistband.

The investigation team also discovered on his phone a Snapchat message to Youth One featuring a picture of the ring on his middle finger, along with replies from Youth One discussing the price of gold and the ring itself.

The preliminary hearing was told that Youth Two’s phone also contained another message sent a day after the incident in which he allegedly messaged Youth One telling him, “Yo, yo, yo, get active. You need to call a paedo and jerk off.”

The court heard it was alleged that Youth One’s phone also had two other numbers saved, with contacts named “Preyy” and “Prey”.

A man associated with the “Preyy” number was interviewed and said someone on Grindr had contacted him. Gardaí believed that Youth Two had also access to his co-defendant’s account on the dating application, and that this individual’s number was saved on Youth Two’s phone.

The court heard that Youth Two had forwarded this number to Youth One to make two videos to send to “Preyy”.

The sergeant alleged that the teenagers’ motive was to identify and befriend innocent victims who were using the dating app and that it was premeditated.

Youth One’s solicitor said his client had a difficult background, having come to Ireland at a young age following a number of difficulties in his family life.

The court heard that Youth Two had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. Gardaí did not accept that he had a lesser role.

The proceedings fall under the juvenile protocol, which requires greater expediency in handling the trial because the defendants are still minors.

A date has yet to be scheduled for their appearance in the Central Criminal Court.