Four men entered a boys' secondary school in the middle of the school day and violently confronted a juvenile there, causing widespread fear amongst students and staff, a court has heard.
Jamie Geoghan, Jack Craig, Josh Neary and Scott Purdue pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to violent disorder at a boys' school in Dublin on October 13th 2022.
CCTV footage played in court showed the four men entering the school around 2pm, before confronting a teenage student who took a hammer out of his bag in self-defence and then fled.
Jamie Geoghan, now aged 28, took a steel pole and threw it at the student, narrowly missing him and a staff member, the court heard.
Geoghan, with an address at Shancastle Drive, Clondalkin, was on Wednesday sentenced to two years in prison.
Delivering Geoghan’s sentence, Judge Orla Crowe said the incident must have been extremely frightening for the school population and the student who was chased.
Judge Crowe backdated Geoghan’s sentence to July 22nd this year, when he pleaded guilty.
The court heard that Geoghan had a promising schoolboy football career in both the Irish national team and as a semi-professional with Shelbourne FC, before he started getting into trouble with the law.
Judge Crowe noted his “long and extensive” history of offending dating back to 2013, since when he has acquired 79 previous convictions.
Geoghan initially denied the charge and took a trial date, while the other three accused all submitted early guilty pleas and have already been sentenced.
Josh Neary (22) of Shancastle Park, Clondalkin and Jamie Purdue (25), also of Shancastle Park, were each previously sentenced to 16 months in prison by Judge Martin Nolan.
Judge Nolan also handed a 16-month sentence to Jack Craig (21) of Shancastle Drive, but suspended it in full after the court heard that Craig had not played a big role and had no previous convictions.
During an earlier hearing, the court heard that the confrontation was brought to an end by staff after Neary grabbed the student’s own bag and threw it at him.
The perpetrators were ushered out of the school and no one was physically injured during the incident.
Garda Aisling Halligan told Eoin Lawlor SC, prosecuting, that students were quite scared in the wake of the incident and one staff member had retired as a result of the altercation.
Judge Nolan said during the previous hearing that the men were “very forceful, boisterous and very violent” and had “terrified students and staff” when they entered the school.
This was a school setting, he noted, adding: “Schools are entitled to exist peacefully and not be invaded like this.”
Justin McQuade BL, defending Geoghan, said on Wednesday that his client is married with three young children and had been a promising footballer in his late teens until “life intervened” and he started getting into trouble.
He presented letters from Geoghan’s wife, mother and from Crumlin FC, where he coached an underage team.
The court heard that Geoghan’s rehabilitation was well underway and that he was using his time in custody well and wisely, undertaking courses with the City of Dublin Education services and with the Red Cross.
Geoghan was on bail at the time of this offence and is currently serving a six-year sentence for another matter, the court heard.
Keith Spencer BL, defending Craig, of Shancastle Drive, previously told the court that his client had no criminal history, had recently become a father for the first time and was working in a café.
Luke O'Higgins BL, defending Neary, of Shancastle Park, said his client is originally from Tullamore, Co Offaly and came to Dublin for work, where he fell in with a bad crowd.
He said Neary has since returned to Tullamore and is living with his mother. He had €500 in court for the school as a token of his remorse. He has eight previous convictions.
The court heard Purdue (25), also of Shancastle Park, Clondalkin, has 107 previous convictions. He is currently in custody. Jennifer Jackson BL, defending, said Purdue had ADHD and was expelled from school in second year.
She said he suffered two significant head injuries – the first at the age of 17 when he fell out of a moving car, and the second when he got a gunshot wound to the head and was in a coma for five months. He had also lost three fingers when he was the subject of an attack, the court heard.
