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[h=1]Teenager jailed over Smithfield Horse Fair shots[/h]
A teenager involved in a mass brawl at the Smithfield Horse Fair has been jailed
A teenager involved in a mass brawl at the Smithfield Horse Fair has been jailed after he fired a homemade gun at two men leaving them with pellets in their bodies.
Judge Martin Nolan accepted that Daniel O'Reilly, 19, was heavily under the influence of his father, horse trader Patrick O'Reilly, 44.
He jailed the teen for five and half years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Daniel O'Reilly fired an improvised shotgun, made up of two pipes welded together, during the fight between two traveller family factions. A third victim was seriously injured when his arm was nearly severed with a machete.
Garda Colm Kelly told Vincent Heneghan BL, prosecuting, that John McInnerney later had 30 pellets removed from his body, while Gerard Donoghue had nine pellets taken out of his leg.
Mr McInnerney identified O'Reilly as his assailant and told gardai that the teenager had been standing four meters away from him when he heard "gun" and saw Daniel get down on one knee before firing the weapon.
Other witnesses also told gardaí that O'Reilly had been responsible for both shootings and his DNA later linked him to the weapon and a shotgun cartridge which was recovered from the scene.
O'Reilly of Cloonmore Park, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to possession of an improvised firearm and violent disorder at Smithfield on March 6, 2011.
His 14 previous convictions were all dealt with in the District Court and included burglary and theft offences.
Last October, Judge Nolan sentenced his father Patrick, of no fixed abode, to six years with the final two suspended after he pleaded guilty to violent disorder.
He was charged with the offence after he was photographed by journalists wielding a stick during the fight.
O'Reilly Senior, who has 75 previous convictions, was seen in the same group as his son and the machete wielding man.
The court heard that the monthly horse fair attracted between 4,000 and 4,500 people including traders, tourists and journalists. Members of the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the gardaí were also there.
Members of the Quilligan and O'Reilly families were involved in a feud with the McInnerney and Donoghue families and members of both factions were also at the fair buying and selling horses.
Another witness saw O'Reilly Senior armed with a stick alongside a man wielding a machete. This man struck the arm of another man, leaving it "swinging".
Further up the square another victim was shot with a Webley .22 revolver.
This was later recovered at the Oliver Bond Flats in the city centre.
Gda Kelly said both of O'Reilly's victims had since made a full recovery and declined to make victim impact statements.
He agreed with Mr Heneghan that O'Reilly's father was the most senior figure involved in the brawl and Daniel was heavily influenced by the man.
Gda Kelly agreed with Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, that it had been an "on-going feud" but acknowledged that the teenager has since become involved with the Midlands Traveller Conflict Mediation Initiative and "matters have calmed down".
Denis Sweeney gave evidence that he was asked by O'Reilly's grandfather to take the teenager away from Tallaght and his father's influence.
He said O'Reilly was welcomed into his family home in Wexford and was given a job.
"This would not have happened if it were not for his father," Mr Sweeney told the court.
Mr Dwyer told the court that this client's "own father had not guided him in a way you would expect a father to" but added that the teenager does take responsibility for his actions and is ashamed to be before the court.
"People were around him, egging him on and encouraging him to discharge it," Mr Dwyer said.
Counsel said O'Reilly was committed to leaving "all this behind him" and hopes to get married, get a job and stay out of prison in the future.
Judge Nolan said O'Reilly had discharged a lethal weapon into a crowd and the injuries sustained by the men were "comparatively minor when far more serious injuries could have ensued".
He accepted he has tried to reform since his remand in custody and said he was confident he would reform if he managed to stay away from his father.
A teenager involved in a mass brawl at the Smithfield Horse Fair has been jailed
A teenager involved in a mass brawl at the Smithfield Horse Fair has been jailed after he fired a homemade gun at two men leaving them with pellets in their bodies.
Judge Martin Nolan accepted that Daniel O'Reilly, 19, was heavily under the influence of his father, horse trader Patrick O'Reilly, 44.
He jailed the teen for five and half years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Daniel O'Reilly fired an improvised shotgun, made up of two pipes welded together, during the fight between two traveller family factions. A third victim was seriously injured when his arm was nearly severed with a machete.
Garda Colm Kelly told Vincent Heneghan BL, prosecuting, that John McInnerney later had 30 pellets removed from his body, while Gerard Donoghue had nine pellets taken out of his leg.
Mr McInnerney identified O'Reilly as his assailant and told gardai that the teenager had been standing four meters away from him when he heard "gun" and saw Daniel get down on one knee before firing the weapon.
Other witnesses also told gardaí that O'Reilly had been responsible for both shootings and his DNA later linked him to the weapon and a shotgun cartridge which was recovered from the scene.
O'Reilly of Cloonmore Park, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to possession of an improvised firearm and violent disorder at Smithfield on March 6, 2011.
His 14 previous convictions were all dealt with in the District Court and included burglary and theft offences.
Last October, Judge Nolan sentenced his father Patrick, of no fixed abode, to six years with the final two suspended after he pleaded guilty to violent disorder.
He was charged with the offence after he was photographed by journalists wielding a stick during the fight.
O'Reilly Senior, who has 75 previous convictions, was seen in the same group as his son and the machete wielding man.
The court heard that the monthly horse fair attracted between 4,000 and 4,500 people including traders, tourists and journalists. Members of the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the gardaí were also there.
Members of the Quilligan and O'Reilly families were involved in a feud with the McInnerney and Donoghue families and members of both factions were also at the fair buying and selling horses.
Another witness saw O'Reilly Senior armed with a stick alongside a man wielding a machete. This man struck the arm of another man, leaving it "swinging".
Further up the square another victim was shot with a Webley .22 revolver.
This was later recovered at the Oliver Bond Flats in the city centre.
Gda Kelly said both of O'Reilly's victims had since made a full recovery and declined to make victim impact statements.
He agreed with Mr Heneghan that O'Reilly's father was the most senior figure involved in the brawl and Daniel was heavily influenced by the man.
Gda Kelly agreed with Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, that it had been an "on-going feud" but acknowledged that the teenager has since become involved with the Midlands Traveller Conflict Mediation Initiative and "matters have calmed down".
Denis Sweeney gave evidence that he was asked by O'Reilly's grandfather to take the teenager away from Tallaght and his father's influence.
He said O'Reilly was welcomed into his family home in Wexford and was given a job.
"This would not have happened if it were not for his father," Mr Sweeney told the court.
Mr Dwyer told the court that this client's "own father had not guided him in a way you would expect a father to" but added that the teenager does take responsibility for his actions and is ashamed to be before the court.
"People were around him, egging him on and encouraging him to discharge it," Mr Dwyer said.
Counsel said O'Reilly was committed to leaving "all this behind him" and hopes to get married, get a job and stay out of prison in the future.
Judge Nolan said O'Reilly had discharged a lethal weapon into a crowd and the injuries sustained by the men were "comparatively minor when far more serious injuries could have ensued".
He accepted he has tried to reform since his remand in custody and said he was confident he would reform if he managed to stay away from his father.
