Bail granted to woman accused of €477k bus fire damage during Dublin riots

Tom Tuite

A woman accused of setting fire to a Dublin Bus, which was "completely destroyed" at a cost of almost half a million euros during the November 2023 riots, has been granted bail.

Violence broke out after a girl, aged five, was severely wounded, and two other children and a woman were injured in a knife attack at Parnell Square in Dublin city centre earlier that day.

Leanne Kelly, 34, who is from Wicklow but of no fixed abode, was accused of torching the bus on O'Connell Bridge.

She was charged last week and faced her second appearance before Judge Michele Finan at Dublin District Court on Wednesday for the conclusion of a part-heard hearing.

Noting that a residential address was now available to the accused, the judge set her bail at €300 and required a €3,000 independent surety, which must be approved before Ms Kelly can be released under strict terms.

Detective Garda Barry Brennan told the court that the accused "made no reply" to a charge of causing criminal damage on November 23rd, 2023.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has directed that she face "trial on indictment", meaning the case will go forward to the Circuit Court, which has wider sentencing powers.

Detective Garda Brennan objected to bail due to the seriousness of the case.

He alleged the incident occurred during the "Dublin riots" and he claimed that at about 7.30pm, Ms Kelly picked up a piece of rubbish and ran to a garda car that had been set on fire.

Detective Garda Brennan said she "extracted flames from the garda car onto the piece of rubbish and she ran to the Dublin Bus."

The court heard it had already been abandoned after being surrounded by rioters.

It was claimed that Ms Kelly ran onto the bus, threw the burning rubbish on the ground, "setting it alight".

He added that the bus was "completely destroyed", causing €477,851 damage.

He agreed with defence solicitor Niall O'Connor that his client now presented as a "different person" from the one on the CCTV evidence.

The detective said at the time of the incident, Ms Kelly was "sleeping rough in the north inner city".

He also voiced concerns that she would not turn up to court if granted bail.

Mr O'Connor proposed that Ms Kelly, who has yet to indicate a plea, could reside with family and would obey conditions.

Judge Finan ordered her to reside at Kilbride Grove, Bray, Co Wicklow, obey an 11pm – 6am curfew, sign on daily at the local Garda station, and remain contactable by phone.

The charge under Section 2 of the Criminal Damage Act carries a possible 10-year sentence and a €10,000 fine.

Prosecutors must complete and serve her with a book of evidence before she is sent forward for trial. She will appear again on June 9th.

To date, 85 people have been arrested in connection with the Dublin riots, with 66 charged.