A 61-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the burning of a Luas tram during the Dublin riots last November.
John Tate of Iveagh Trust, Kevin Street, Dublin 8 appeared before the District Courts of Justice last evening charged with a number of public disorder offences.
He was charged with two counts of arson, two counts of obstructing traffic and two counts of violent disorder.
He’s accused of obstructing a Luas and a bus on O’Connell Street Upper on the night of November 23rd last year and ordering the drivers and passengers to abandon both vehicles.
It’s alleged that he then set fire to bags of rubbish and placed them on the tram.
The court also heard that Mr.Tate was allegedly one of the first people to break through a Garda cordon on O’Connell Street Upper that evening and encouraged others to do so, it’s claimed that this soon escalated into a mass riot.
John Tate was remanded in custody with consent to bail. The 61-year-old will appear in court again on February 13th.
Reporting by Barry Whyte
