Man in court after Dublin State buildings rammed

The gates of multiple state buildings were damaged

A man has appeared in court in Dublin charged in connection with incidents of criminal damage to several State buildings.

David O'Callaghan from The Fairways, Woodbrook Glen, Bray, Co Wicklow, appeared before Dublin district court on Saturday afternoon.

The 40-year-old was charged with five counts of criminal damage.

The court heard that the gates of multiple state buildings were damaged in the early hours of Friday morning.

The scene after a vehicle drove into gates at Government Buildings in Dublin

'Severe damage'

The court heard that at 02:15 local time, a white Ford Transit van made a U-turn outside the entrance to Áras an Uachtaráin (residence of the president of Ireland) before reversing into the gates and driving off.

The van then drove on to the Custom House where it reversed into the gates forcing them open.

Following this, it then drove to Merrion Street Upper, where three gates at the Houses of the Oireachtas (parliament buildings) including the main gates of the Department of the Taoiseach, the rear gates of Leinster House and the North Road gate at Government Buildings were rammed.

The court heard severe damage was caused to the North Road gate in particular, leaving it breached and wide open.

The damage caused to the gates is estimated to cost tens of thousands of euro.

The gates at Dublin's Phoenix Park, the official residence of Ireland's president, Michael D Higgins.

Giving evidence, a gardaí (Irish police) officer said the accused was arrested at the scene.

The court heard all the incidents had been captured on CCTV and the van could be seen swerving to avoid road users on two occasions.

The officer said further charges may arise in relation to the case.

He added that gardaí objected to bail on several grounds including the seriousness of the offences and concerns that the accused was a danger to the public at large.

Mr O'Callaghan was remanded into custody with consent to bail, subject to several conditions, including the provision of an independent surety of €5,000 (£4,300).

He is to appear again before Cloverhill District Court on 8 August.