Waterford judge says he finds it 'interesting' how far people will travel to protest
Waterford Courthouse
A Waterford judge has said he finds it “interesting” that people will travel from as far as Dublin to protest.
Judge Kevin Staunton was speaking at a sitting of Waterford District Court, as he struck out the case of Sean Dunne (31), of 10 Frederick Hall, North Frederick Street, Dublin 1, who “involved himself” in an altercation on the steps of Bishop's Palace during a protest, last July.
Mr Dunne was charged with threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour contrary to Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994, but contested the matter.
Judge Staunton said that on the day, there were “a number of people behaving in an appalling manner” and “it looked like a situation that got out of hand”.
“Mr Dunne was not behaving in a good manner.
“I’ll strike it out on the basis that it is a mess, and it appears he is the only one before the court," said Judge Staunton.
He went on to say: “I do find it interesting that people come from Coolock to express their views."
Garda O’Toole told the court that on July 26, 2025, he and his colleagues were policing two protests on The Mall in Waterford when a fight broke out on the steps of Bishop's Palace.
The fight was between two men, and the defendant, who was not fighting, “involved himself” in the altercation.
Bodycam footage shown in court shows the gardaí breaking up the fight and arresting those involved.
The defendant could be seen briefly during the fight, and his involvement was pointed out by Garda O’Toole for the benefit of the court.
Under cross-examination from solicitor Hilary Delahunty, acting for the defendant, Garda O’Toole confirmed that the defendant was cooperative with gardaí following the fight.
However, he told the court he could not speak to Mr Dunne’s motive but that “he intervened in a threatening and aggressive manner, that is my view”.
