TWO TEENAGER visiting Limerick for the Christmas festivities were chased, robbed, and attacked by a gang of seven youths, most of them just 14 years of age, a court heard.
Judge Carol Ann Coolican was hearing allegations in the case of two 17-year-old boys, claimed by Gardaí to have been part of a gang which attacked two Galway teens.
The judge was asked to decide whether the case should be heard by her in the district court under the auspices of the children’s court or sent to the adult circuit court for trial.
Judge Coolican heard evidence from Gardaí that the 16-year-old victims in the case were visiting Limerick from Galway on December 27, 2022, with one of their parents when the attack happened.
The court heard the two Galway teens were waiting in a car park by Cruises Street to travel home.
The two were standing by a railing looking out onto Little Ellen Street when “seven suspects in total began chasing them”, a Garda witness told the court.
“They ran into a stairwell where they were attacked and a Diesel jacket which (one of them) had just bought was stolen.”
The Garda witness said that one victim “managed to get to his feet” and ran away, but was again chased into the street by the gang.
The boy was later brought to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.
It is alleged that one of the accused, neither of whom can be named as they are under age, stole the jacket.
Both are charged with violent disorder and one with theft.
While both youths retain the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty, the Garda urged Judge Coolican to send them for trial in the higher court because of the nature of the assault.
“This was an extremely violent incident. They (the two visiting teens) were subjected to an unprovoked attack,” the Garda witness said.
The charge of violent disorder is punishable by up to 10 years in jail.
Legal representatives defending the two accused pointed out that the alleged attack happened in 2022 and blamed delays for prosecuting the charges until now on the State.
Gardaí told Judge Coolican that because there were seven accused youths in the case, the process of investigating and bringing charges was a “substantial” one.
If the charges had been brought in timely fashion, it was put to the court, the two accused “would have enjoyed the advantages of the hearing being in the children’s dourt,” because of their age, including not being publicly named.
By the time the matter comes to trial, both will be aged 18 or over and will be tried as adults, whereas the alleged crime was committed when all seven accused were aged around 14, it was put to Judge Coolican.
Judge Coolican said she is “satisfied that this matter should proceed in the circuit court”.
She remanded the two accused who were before Tuesday’s court sitting on bail until October 21 of the preparation of a book of evidence.