During a search of a home in Finglas, gardai recovered a .223 calibre Remington AR-15 semi-automatic rifle along with a military grade sub-machine gun and ammunition
Eric O’Driscoll
Lawyers acting for a man who was filmed firing a semi-automatic rifle from the rear of a house in Dublin have asked the Special Criminal Court to be “as lenient as possible” when sentencing.
The three-judge court heard that during a search of a home in Finglas in Dublin in February 2022, gardai recovered a .223 calibre Remington AR-15 semi-automatic rifle along with a military grade sub-machine gun and ammunition.
Detective Inspector Damien Kelly today told prosecution counsel Sean Gillane SC that the guns were found to be in good condition and were successfully fired by a garda ballistics examiner.
In June 2022 in an “unrelated incident” gardai searched a taxi on the Tolka Valley Road and found a bank card in Eric O’Driscoll’s name and a phone that they were later able to connect to the defendant. Inspector Kelly said analysts found a video clip on the phone in which O’Driscoll could be seen taking the rifle from another man and firing it from the rear of a home in Finglas.
In another clip, the firearms that were seized in February 2022 were filmed having been laid out on a table at the same address in Finglas.
Seamus Clarke SC, acting for O’Driscoll, asked the court to be “as lenient as possible” given that his client’s three previous convictions relate to a single public order incident and he entered an early guilty plea.
Mr Clarke said O’Driscoll has been in custody since January 2024 and has been on 23-hour lockup for the past nine months. While in custody he overheard a killing in a cell next to his own and saw the dead body the following morning.
While the maximum sentence for the firearms offence is 14 years, Mr Clarke said the court “does not have to enforce anything up to that level”. He said the sentence should provide an opportunity for O’Driscoll to rehabilitate.
Ms Justice Melanie Greally, presiding, adjourned the matter for a probation and governor’s report.
O’Driscoll (23) pleaded guilty last year to possession of a .223 calibre Remington AR-15 semi-automatic rifle at an address in Finglas on January 9, 2022 in circumstances giving rise to the reasonable inference that he did not have it for a lawful purpose.
The court will take into account further charges for reckless discharge of a firearm and possession of a .380 ACP calibre military Ingram M11 submachine gun.
Glen Ward
O’Driscoll’s brother Glen Ward (31), who faces a charge of possession of an AR-15 rifle and another of reckless discharge of a firearm in Finglas on January 1, 2022, is due to go on trial later this year.
