Man (22) jailed for role in an attack on sergeant during Dublin riots
Sonya McLean
A man has been jailed for five and a half years for his role in assaulting a sergeant during the Dublin riots almost two years ago.
The court heard that the assault on Sergeant Brendan Eddery was livestreamed, and his wife and teenage daughter later received videos of the attack.
Sgt Eddery said in his victim impact statement that when he saw a number of men running towards him that night, he decided “on principle not to yield to bullies, a mob”.
He said the group’s “only goal was random violence and intimidation” before he described his patrol car being set alight.
During interview, Thomas Fox (22) said he thought migrants were “smell bags”.
“I would do murder if they even touched a kid. You hear about them grabbing kids an’ all. I thought more kids were going to get stabbed and snatched,” Fox said.
When asked why he had got involved in the riots, he said because of what happened to the child earlier that day, referring to the stabbing of the child earlier that day on Parnell Square.
Fox initially denied that it was him in the footage the gardaí showed him and claimed “I just stood around in town”. He later accepted that it was him.
Fox, who was living in hostel accommodation, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to committing a riot on Burgh Quay, Dublin 2 on November 23, 2022.
He also pleaded guilty to violent disorder, burglary of Foot Locker on O’Connell Street, interfering with the mechanism of a bus on O’Connell Bridge, assaulting Sgt Eddery causing him harm also on Burgh Quay and possession of cocaine for sale or supply in the hostel he was living in at the time on Lord Edward Street in Dublin City Centre.
The court heard that the plea to the assault on Sgt Eddery is accepted by the Director of Public Prosecutions on the basis of joint enterprise.
Detective Inspector Ken Hoare told Joe Mulrean BL, prosecuting, that Fox was independently identified by two gardaí after viewing CCTV footage of the riots. He said Fox was involved in the riots for about four hours.
Fox was arrested on July 22, 2024 in the hostel where he was living at the time. Cannabis worth €210 and crack cocaine worth €340, along with drug paraphernalia was found there. Clothing was also found that matched what Fox was seen wearing on CCTV footage.
Judge Martin Nolan complimented Sgt Eddery on the way he behaved on the night in question and the way he gave his evidence during the sentence hearing on Wednesday. He acknowledged how the attack had also impacted Sgt Eddery’s family.
Judge Nolan said Fox deserved a custodial sentence before he set a headline sentence of eight years. He then imposed a global sentence of five and half years.
“Best of luck sergeant,” Judge Nolan said after imposing sentence on Fox.
