A man, alleged to have committed arson on a Luas tram during the Dublin city centre riots of November last year, has been detained at a District Court in Dublin. The accused, Thomas Connors, 33, a resident of Markievicz House, Townsend Street, Dublin 2, stood before Judge Bryan Smyth at the Criminal Courts of Justice on a recent Friday. The court heard from Garda Cathy Giblin that Mr Connors was taken into custody the previous Thursday morning at the Store Street Garda Station.
Mr Connors is up against two charges related to criminal damage which occurred on Upper O’Connell Street on 23rd November the previous year. One of the charges involves damage to a Luas tram unit, while the other relates to damage to the tram system’s overhead cables.
Furthermore, he is charged with an attempt to inflict demonstrable damage on a Luas tram in violation of common law, and participating in a riot, a contravention of Section 14 of the Public Order Act, 1994.
Described by Gardaí on Thursday, Mr Connors is the 50th individual arrested in relation to the riots of last November.
Judge Smyth ordered Mr Connors to be detained at Cloverhill Prison until next Thursday, when he will reappear in court via a video call.
In total, nine men had been brought before the courts that week after being charged for offences having associations with the civil unrest that unfolded mainly around O’Connell and Parnell streets on the afternoon and evening of November 23rd.