Man in Naas Court over alleged threat to cause criminal damage to hotel

A man appeared in Naas District Court on Thursday, January 12, charged with a threat of criminal damage and two counts of trespassing at a property in Athy.

The accusations relate to Stephen O' Rourke, with an address listed as 1 Castle Park in Athy.

It was alleged that the 43-year-old was confronted by gardaí at The Abbey in Athy on January 9 last, which will soon be used to house 94 asylum seekers, mostly made up of women and children.
Gardaí claimed that Mr O' Rourke was recording himself on the property, and streaming himself on Facebook Live.

It was heard that he allegedly got into an argument with gardaí on the site, and it was claimed that he said he would 'light it (the building) up like a Christmas tree.'

He allegedly returned to the property the next day, which gardaí claimed would have constituted a trespassing offence.

A garda told Judge Desmond Zaidan that when he was cautioned, he replied 'no comment' in response to all three counts leveled against him. Garda Sergeant Brian Jacob also noted to the judge that a property that was recently proposed to house displaced Ukrainians in Kill burned down last November.

Judge Zaidan decided to accept jurisdiction over the case, and granted bail for Mr O' Rourke under a number of conditions.

The accused must stay at least 500 metres away from The Abbey, must keep the peace and be of good behaviour, he must have no direct or indirect contact with the staff, management or residents at The Abbey, and he must refrain from mentioning the staff, management and residents on his social media platforms.

Mr O' Rourke's solicitor, Brian Duffy, said his client would abide by all the listed conditions.

His case will return to Athy District Court on February 14.