Man charged with having a slash hook at Letterkenny church disturbance

A man has appeared in court charged with having a slash hook in his possession during a disturbance outside a Letterkenny church.

Brian Reilly appeared by videolink at Letterkenny District Court before Judge Brendan O'Reilly.

The court heard the accused is charged along with a number of others following an incident at the Church of the Irish Martyrs in Letterkenny on August 18th, 2024.

Mass-goers were forced to remain inside Sunday mass following the disturbance in the porch of the church building.

The argument spilled outside into the car park of the church where there was a strong Garda presence including unformed members of An Garda Siochana, detectives as well as members of the Garda Armed Response Unit.

A number of men were later arrested and charged with various offences including public order and possession of offensive weapons.

Those charged were all members of two rival families.

Among them was Brian O'Reilly, aged 29, with an address at Tailteann Drive in Navan, Co Meath.

O'Reilly is charged that on August 18th, 2024 at the Church Of The Irish Martyrs, Gortlee Rd, Ballyraine, Letterkenny, he committed violent disorder with other persons, namely Michael Reilly Snr, Michael Reilly Jnr, Thomas Reilly, Gary Reilly and John Paul Reilly present together, used or threatened to use unlawful violence and such conduct, taken together, was such as would cause a person of reasonable firmness present at said place to fear for his or another person's safety.

The charge is Contrary to Section 15 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994.

He is also charged that on the same date and location, he had in a public place an article, namely a slash hook intended by him unlawfully to cause injury to/incapacitate or intimidate a person either in a particular eventuality or otherwise, to wit, production of an offensive weapon in a church car park in relation to an ongoing dispute with members of another family whom were present at the time of production.

That charge is Contrary to Section 9(5) Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990.

All these other named individuals have been charged with various offences at previous sittings of Letterkenny District Court.

Solicitor for the accused, Mr Patsy Gallagher, told the court that his client is currently serving a sentence.

He asked for all matters to be linked for his client to appear in court on September 17th next for the service of a book of evidence in the case.

At the time of the incident, parish priest Fr Ciaran Harkin reassured mass-goers that the church had taken precautions to prevent a repeat of the shocking scenes.

He said “Like many in the parish, I was deeply shocked and indeed angry that you, our 11:30 congregation, had to witness the complete disregard for human life last week and a complete disregard for the sacredness of this chapel and its grounds.

“For many of you, I know it was a frightening experience and of course, only for the prompt and efficient work of the gardaí, it could have been a very serious, violent incident.

“Without going into any detail, I certainly am a little wiser after this incident. Indeed, more precautions will be taken to ensure that an incident like this will not take place again and any of our parish masses.”