[article] DART damage pair remanded

[Mark Gleeson]

Remember the crazy Patrick's day in 2005 when war broke out on a train near Howth Junction, well these seem to be the guys who got charged with it. CCTV obviously got a result

Originally Posted by Irish Independent

DART damage pair remanded

TWO men who shattered glass on a DART train when they smashed 36 windows with emergency hammers have had their sentences adjourned at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Sean Howard (20) of Killary Grove, Donaghmede, was remanded in custody and Jason Hutton (19) of Redmond's Court, Kilbarrack, remanded on continuing bail.

© Irish Independent 2007
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independe...issue_id=15414

[Mark]

Would smashing their front room windows seem OTT?

[Mark Gleeson]

They actually smashed/shattered/cracked the glass and I mean all the glass in 2 separate coaches in the matter of about 5 minutes, they got the interior partitions as well. Doing in there windows is too good they need the demo of what happens in a rail accident if you go out the window that will scare the hell out of them

No mean feat when only 2 windows per coach are designed to work with a emergency hammer

The repair cost was very significant

Originally Posted by Irish Times

More than 700 are arrested in trouble at festivities

Alison Healy
Coach builder Peter Baneham working on the windows in a Dart train which was damaged on St Patrick's Day. At least four people smashed 25 windows on the train near Howth Junction train station.

Widespread disorder and drunkenness lead politicians to call for measures to tackle culture of drinking

More than 700 people were arrested around the State for public order offences on St Patrick's Day - a doubling of the number of arrests on last year.

The Garda Press Office said that 407 people were arrested in the Dublin region on St Patrick's Day, with 252 of these arrests for public order offences. Offences included being drunk and disorderly, not moving on when requested, drinking on the street and trespassing.

A Garda spokesman said some of the other 155 offences might or might not have involved St Patrick's Day revellers. The vast majority of these people would be appearing in court at some stage, he said.

Extra Garda patrols have been planned for this weekend, but the Garda spokesman said these were planned before Thursday's events, to cater for some St Patrick's Festival happenings.

On Thursday, gardaí were searching people entering St Stephen's Green to ensure that alcohol was not taken into the park but callers to RTÉ's Liveline said the Green was like "an open air pub" as people had smuggled in drink. The Green was closed early to avoid trouble breaking out.

Iarnród Éireann staff, and three trains, came under attack from passengers on St Patrick's Day and a number of people were arrested. At least four people smashed 25 windows on a Dart train near Howth Junction train station on Thursday evening.

Clíodhna Ní Fhátharta, Iarnród Éireann spokeswoman, said the CCTV footage had some very clear pictures of the culprits and it was hoped that they would be caught. Gardaí at Clontarf have sought the public's assistance in the incident. The Clontarf Community Policing Unit can be contacted on 01 6664800.

The 7.18pm Dart travelling from Howth to Greystones that evening had two windows broken and was taken out of service midway through its journey.

Two Iarnród Éireann staff were assaulted at Bray station at about 8pm by three people who were being pursued by an inspector for their fares. Both the inspector and the train driver were assaulted and gardaí arrested three people.

A fight broke out between passengers on the 8.30pm Dart from Howth to Bray. Iarnród Éireann's private security team were on the ground and gardaí later arrested one person.

There was also a stabbing and a shooting in Dublin on St Patrick's Day. A 17-year-old youth was shot in the leg late on the night of St Patrick's Day, at a house in Edenmore, Coolock. At 2am yesterday, a 26-year-old man was stabbed in the head at Ballyfermot Road. He was taken by ambulance to St James's Hospital but gardaí said his injuries were not life threatening.

In Artane, two people were hospitalised following a knife attack. One of the injured required surgery in Beaumont Hospital.

The Rutland Centre, which treats people with alcohol and other addictions, said the excess drinking and associated violence displayed on St Patrick's Day had become "a sign of the times".

Gerry Cooney, treatment co-ordinator, said alcohol abuse had become "a very significant problem" and it would not be dealt until society accepted the scale of the problem. He said the issue was not confined to teenage drinking, as every major occasion in this State centred on excess alcohol consumption.

Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle said a culture of persistent binge drinking had taken hold in this and other EU states. Ms Doyle called on the EU council of health ministers to tackle the issue.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Michael Conaghan, and the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association had called for the closure of off-licences on St Patrick's Day.

PTAA chairman Fr Micheál Mac Gréil said excess drinking on a feast day was "an ugly spectacle" for families and tourists.

However, Alderman Conaghan said he believed things were not as bad as last year.

Irish Times 2005
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ire...799545579.html

[Redsoxfan]

I remember using the northbound DART that night around 9 or so. I group of around 4 drinking thugs got on at Harmonstown, one of them was carrying a metal bar and sat down next to us. Myself and my gf were the only passengers in the carriage except for a group of skanger kids at the other end. Just as the doors were closing, 3 security guys jumped on. It was pretty scary.

[Colm Moore]

At least this type of stuff doesn't happed on the railways. Yet.

There was also a stabbing and a shooting in Dublin on St Patrick's Day. A 17-year-old youth was shot in the leg late on the night of St Patrick's Day, at a house in Edenmore, Coolock. At 2am yesterday, a 26-year-old man was stabbed in the head at Ballyfermot Road. He was taken by ambulance to St James's Hospital but gardaí said his injuries were not life threatening.

...

Of course you do get attempted de-railments, riots ....

[Mark Gleeson]

Finally a punishment which will make vandals think twice

It was the CCTV which caught them

Last Updated: 02/07/2007 18:59
Men get four years for Dart vandalism

Two youths who smashed 36 windows on a DART train with emergency hammers, causing over €40,000 of damage, have each been handed four year sentences.

Sean Howard (20), of Killary Grove, Donaghmede and Jason Hutton (19) of Redmond's Court, Kilbarrack caused passengers to be sprayed with shattered glass as the train pulled out of the station.

At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today, Judge Michael White jailed Howard for four years saying he had a substantial record of 16 previous convictions and had previously received many chances.

Judge White suspended Hutton's sentence entirely noting that he had four "more minor" convictions and had received a favourable Probation Report.

Howard and Hutton pleaded guilty to criminal damage at Howth Junction Station on March 17th, 2005. The total loss to Iarnród Éireann, including loss of revenue as the train was out of service for three days, was estimated at €42,350.

Judge White said this kind of behaviour was now prevalent on St Patrick's Day. "It was damage to public property that was providing a public service on our national feast day when a number of families were on the train," he said.

[Mark Gleeson]

Men who broke windows on train given four years

Two youths who smashed 36 windows on a Dart train with emergency hammers, causing more than €40,000 of damage, have received four-year sentences at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Seán Howard (20), Killary Grove, Donaghmede, and Jason Hutton (19), Redmond's Court, Kilbarrack, caused passengers to be sprayed with shattered glass as the train left the station.

Judge Michael White jailed Howard for four years, saying he had a substantial record of 16 previous convictions and had received many chances.

Judge White suspended Hutton's sentence entirely, noting that he had four "more minor" convictions and had received a favourable probation report.

Howard and Hutton pleaded guilty to criminal damage at Howth Junction station on March 17th, 2005. The total loss to Iarnród Éireann, including loss of revenue as the train was out of service for three days, was estimated at €42,350.

Judge White said this kind of behaviour was now prevalent on St Patrick's Day. "It was damage to public property that was providing a public service on our national feast day when a number of families were on the train," he said.

Garda Seosamh Ó Conghaile told Vincent Heneghan, prosecuting, that a man on the Dart with his young family saw the defendants take emergency hammers from the train and smash a window. They got off at Howth Junction and smashed windows as the train left the station.

Glass was showered on a number of passengers but because of the type of glass in the windows, there were no large splinters and no one was injured.

Garda Ó Conghaile said CCTV footage was broadcast on Sky News and with the help of passengers, Howard and Hutton were identified as suspects. GardaÃ* called to their homes on March 24th and they both immediately admitted their involvement.

Garda Ó Conghaile said that 36 windows were damaged, 11 of which had to be replaced. He told Mr Heneghan that Hutton and Howard were easily influenced when they were intoxicated and that a number of their previous convictions were drink-related.

Garda Ó Conghaile accepted that both co-operated fully with the Garda investigation and were sincerely remorseful.

© 2007 The Irish Times
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ire...410168049.html

[Colm Moore]

Garda Ó Conghaile said that 36 windows were damaged, 11 of which had to be replaced. He told Mr Heneghan that Hutton and Howard were easily influenced when they were intoxicated and that a number of their previous convictions were drink-related.

This would appear to indicate most of the windows survived relatively intact.