Trinity law student Tanya Felloni was remanded on continuing bail yesterday after assaulting a Garda in a Dublin Garda station, according to a report in the Irish Independent.
Last November, Felloni hit a Garda in the face after being taken to Clondalkin Garda Station by a taxi driver over a row about her fare. She told the Garda: “I say rats, you say Garda” and was arrested after the assault took place.
The mother-of-two pleaded guilty to the assault and also pleaded guilty to using abusive language and threatening behaviour.
A solicitor for the Trinity student said that Felloni had offered “heartfelt apologies” to the Gardaí and cited the effects of her difficult childhood as a possible explanation for the incident.
Judge Gerard Jones warned Felloni that she may face a three-month prison sentence if her probation report is not “glowing”, and adjourned the trial until September.
“I want a very convincing reason why she shouldn’t be sent to Dochas. How dare she assault a Garda?”, the judge added.
In May, the case was brought in front of the Blanchardstown District Court. Judge Paula Murphy adjourned the case, awaiting a victim impact report from the Garda in question, according to the Irish Independent.
Yesterday, a victim statement stated that the assault had had a “significant impact” on the Garda.
In June, a report commissioned by the Garda Inspectorate found that Gardaí have made “limited progress” in introducing changes recommended after the forced eviction of a property on North Frederick St last September, which resulted in the arrest of Trinity student Conchúir Ó Radaigh.
The review, titled Public Order Policing: A Review of Practices in the Garda Síochána, also found that there is no clear definition within the force of “what constitutes a public order incident” and that there is “limited external accountability” with regard to the use of force.
Ó Radaigh was one of six protestors arrested last September when a private security firm ended the 25-day occupation of a property on North Frederick St.
