Courts

Teen who ‘enthusiastically’ took part in Dublin riots is jailed

Kyle Lawrence (19) of Lurgan Street, Dublin 7 was involved in looting shops and helping to damage an abandoned garda car and bus

Kyle Lawrence (19) from Lurgan Street in Dublin pictured at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) on Parkgate Street. Photograph: IrishPhotoDesk.ie
Kyle Lawrence (19) from Lurgan Street in Dublin pictured at the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) on Parkgate Street. Photograph: IrishPhotoDesk.ie
Isabel Hayes
Tue Feb 04 2025 - 17:19

A young man who “enthusiastically” took part in the Dublin riots, looting shops and helping to damage an abandoned Garda car and bus, has been jailed for 3½ years.

Kyle Lawrence (19) of Lurgan Street, Dublin 7, is the second person to be prosecuted for the riots, which took place in Dublin city centre on November 23rd, 2023 following the stabbing of a child outside her school.

Lawrence pleaded guilty to two counts of violent disorder in the city centre and one count of trespass and theft at Arnotts, Henry Street that night. His involvement in the Dublin riots spanned a 2½ hour period between 6.30pm and 9pm that evening. He has a number of minor previous convictions and has been in custody since last December.

Several clips of CCTV footage played in court showed Lawrence throwing items, including a black bag of rubbish, at public order units; throwing a fire extinguisher at an abandoned Garda car which later went on fire; and kicking and hitting an abandoned Dublin Bus with a wing mirror which had been snapped off.

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This bus also later went on fire, Detective Inspector Ken Hoare told George Burns BL, prosecuting.

Lawrence was then seen on footage entering several shops including Asics and Footlocker, leaving the latter carrying a shoe box. He was next seen entering Arnotts, empty-handed, where he pulled down a security screen before carrying on into the shop.

Lawrence went on to smash a fire extinguisher at a window of Penneys on Mary Street and then entered Lifestyle Sports on Mary Street, where he was seen leaving and entering several times with bags in his hands. He was sporting a red baseball cap at this stage.

He was finally caught on CCTV footage entering JD Sports – again empty-handed – and leaving with some clothing.

Lawrence was identified by gardaí who trawled “thousands of hours” of CCTV footage of the night, Detective Inspector Hoare said. He was regularly seen in the footage without his hood up and his face was clearly visible.

When arrested in January 2024, Lawrence made full admissions and told gardaí he was “just following the crowds” on the night.

John Berry SC, defending, said his client had just turned 18 on the day in question. He noted his client was easily identifiable during the two and a half hours of “extreme lawlessness”.

He said Lawrence was not an instigator of the violence, was not on social media encouraging others to participate and did not take part in violence against other people.

“He was nosey and became swept up in it,” Mr Berry said. Defence counsel said Lawrence told gardaí that he left items that he took from the shops down in various places.

Mr Berry handed in a psychological report to the court, highlighting Lawrence’s difficult childhood. He was in State care between the age of 12 and 18.

When asked why he threw items at gardaí, he said: “no reason at all” and that it was an “adrenalin rush”.

Defence counsel noted Lawrence’s youth and immaturity at the time of this offence, along with a history of emotional and behavioural difficulties and a lack of education.

Handing down sentence, Judge Martin Nolan said Lawrence “participated enthusiastically in the Dublin riots”. He accepted Lawrence was not an instigator, but got caught up in the “excitement of the moment”. He accepted he did not profit greatly from his looting that night.

Judge Nolan set a headline sentence of 7½ years, but taking into account Lawrence’s youth, immaturity and co-operation, he reduced this to 4½ years.

He suspended the final year on a number of conditions, including that Lawrence remain under the supervision of the Probation Service for a year after his release.