Armed gardaí burst into wrong house and woke up terrified children during two-hour raid, court heard

Kearney, who appeared with Chris Horrigan of Blake Horrigan Solicitors, told Judge O’Sullivan that Ruby Maeve O’Reilly Gibbons, now 11, and her sisters Molly (10) and Kayleigh (16) had been very afraid during the raid.

He said that shortly after the September 2022 incident, all of the children had to receive counseling for shock and trauma and that their family and social life had been disrupted.

The lawyer said that the family, including the children’s parents, had sued the Garda Commissioner and the Minister of Justice and that settlement offers of €17,500 had been made in respect of each child, which he recommended to the court on the basis that liability could become an issue. due to existing legal authority.

The court heard that the parents, of Clifden Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, had each already settled their separate claims for €60,000 in personal injury for sums that were not disclosed to the judge on Friday.

Armed guards burst into the wrong house and searched it for two hours, the court was told, while the parents and their three children remained downstairs. The children filed their claims through their mother Erica O’Reilly.

Kearney said the facts were the same in all three cases and that the medical reports presented to the court were similar in terms of the distress suffered by the children and their treatment. He said no defense had been presented in any of the three cases, but a full defense had been presented in the cases involving his parents.

Judge O’Sullivan, approving settlements totaling €52,500 for the three children, said they had suffered a harrowing experience and she felt the money offered was fair and appropriate.