Two separate protests that took place on the same day in Waterford last summer involved a brawl that had several people “behaving in an appalling manner”, the District Court heard.
The ‘Diversity not Division’ protest, organised by the Waterford Coalition Against Fascism (WCAF) and the ‘Waterford Says No’ anti-immigration march were both held in Waterford City on 26 July, 2025.
Sean Dunne (31) of 10 Frederick Hall, North Frederick Street, Dublin 1, appeared before a sitting of Waterford District Court last month, charged with abusive behaviour in public contrary to Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994. This related to an incident where he became involved in a fight between two other people on the day of the protests at Bishops Palace, The Mall, Waterford.
The court heard that Gardaí were called to the area where the protests were taking place at the same time that day, after they received reports of an altercation between two people. It was stated that the accused got involved in this altercation, and when Gardai arrived, they found him acting aggressively, and in a threatening and abusive manner to others around him. Following this, he was arrested and brought to Waterford Garda Station.
Footage of the incident from a Garda member’s body-worn camera was played to the court, to which Judge Kevin Staunton initially said was “happening too fast”. It showed the accused wearing a black hoodie, and a member of the public saying they were livestreaming before the brawl started.
The court was told that ultimately, the incident was an altercation between two men that the accused became involved in. It was also noted that the defendant was not threatening or abusive towards Gardaí, and that another man had been arrested following the incident.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Hilary Delahunty said it was a situation where two people were fighting, and his client tried to break it up but ended up getting involved. The solicitor said that “it’s difficult to break up a row without being intrusive” and that the accused “did everything he was meant to do” afterwards by complying with Gardaí.
Mr. Delahunty concluded by saying that he would be looking for the charge against his client to be struck out.
Judge Staunton said that the incident was “a number of people behaving in an appalling manner,” that it looked to be “a situation that got out of hand,” and from viewing the video evidence, that it’s “borderline.” The Judge decided to strike out the matter, saying that “it’s all a bit of a mess.”
After making his decision, the Judge highlighted the fact that it was interesting for some of those involved in the ‘Waterford Says No’ protest to have travelled down to Waterford from Dublin to express their views.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
