A 61-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with the arson of a Luas tram on O’Connell Street during the Dublin riots last November.

John Tate, of Iveagh Trust, Kevin St, Dublin 8, is accused of two counts of arson, two violent disorder incidents, and obstructing traffic at Parnell Street and O’Connell Street on 23 November 2023.

He appeared before Judge Stephanie Coggans at Dublin District Court this evening.

She set €5,000 bail with stringent conditions not to attend demonstrations, obey a curfew and “no online activity”.

He was remanded in custody with consent to bail to appear again next Tuesday.

Detective Sergeant Eoghan Byrne told Judge Coggans that the accused “made no reply” when he was charged at 3.15 pm at Store Street station today.

Objecting to bail due to the seriousness of the case, he alleged that at 3.30 pm on 23 November, gardaí became aware of a protest at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin.

Protesters assembled near the crime scene where a series of criminal acts “quickly escalated into a mass riot”, which he described as “an unprecedented act of public disorder”.

It was alleged Tate “blocked” a Luas carrying passengers at O’Connell Street and caused it to come to a halt and to reverse.

The detective sergeant claimed Tate also obstructed a bus carrying passengers, forcing it to stop.

He allegedly took part in violent disorder at the Parnell Street – O’Connell Street junction, where he passed a garda cordon.

It was claimed he “encouraged, led and directed” others to break the cordon and “aggressively approach” the crime scene.

The court heard that he is accused of arson of a Luas tram on O’Connell Street by setting fire to rubbish bags, which quickly spread and caused “extensive damage”.

The court heard that he approached it again and added further material to the blaze, causing it to spread and damage the tram and surrounding infrastructure.

Judge Coggans was told the accused, who did not address the court, allegedly threw missiles and tried to open the rear door of a patrol van causing gardaí to leave the area.

Store Street detectives harvested a large amount of CCTV and allegedly traced his movements for four hours. The court heard Tate wore distinctive clothing.

Gardaí searched his home, recovered some clothes, and seized Tate’s mobile phone, which allegedly contained evidence.

The witness, cross-examined by defence solicitor Cian McCann, agreed that the accused had strong ties to the jurisdiction, had lived most of his life in Dublin 8, and enjoyed the presumption of innocence.

He agreed there was no estimate yet for the value of damage and conceded that if the judge granted bail, he would seek stringent terms.

Several family members were present and offered to pay bail, which the judge set at €5,000.

She ordered him to reside at his present address, surrender his passport and not apply for a replacement, no online activity, provide gardaí with a contact phone number, not participate in any demonstration or large gatherings, and obey a 9 pm – 6 am curfew.

Legal aid was granted to Tate, who has yet to indicate a plea.

Gardaí have already brought dozens of people before the courts on criminal damage, public order, weapons, thefts and various other charges in connection with the rioting and looting during the riots.

During a separate hearing last week, another man was charged with arson of a garda car on 23 November.

In that case, Dublin District Court heard what followed was “one of the most serious and largest scenes of public disorder that has ever occurred in the history of the State”.

It resulted from protests after an earlier incident where children and several people were injured on 23 November in the city centre.

The unrest in the city erupted after a girl, aged five, was severely wounded in a stabbing at Parnell Square on the afternoon of 23 November.

Two other children and a crèche worker, Leanne Flynn Keogh, from Dublin, were also injured.

Riad Bouchaker, 50, who has no fixed abode, was charged on 21 December with the attempted murders of two girls and a boy, as well as assault and production of the 36-centimetre knife. He remains in custody on remand pending trial.