A man has been jailed for eight years by Judge Frank O'Donnell at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for slashing a DART passenger who tried to stop a group of women being harassed.
Gary Breen (22), with 100 previous convictions, had a criminal record that was "in outer space" and had "something drastically wrong with his mental state", said Judge O'Donnell previously when he ordered a psychiatric report.
Breen, of Thomastown Crescent, Sallynoggin, pleaded guilty to 71 offences including assault causing serious harm on the DART on March 16th, 1998.
His crimes included 15 counts of unauthorised taking of vehicles, 10 of criminal damage, two burglaries, one larceny and one robbery. The court was asked to take into account another 41 offences and heard he caused more than £50,000 damage to stolen cars.
The court heard Breen and four others had been drinking beer on the train. They caused mayhem and presented as a "frightening and intimidating lot". A group of men tried to stop them from pestering female passengers. Breen slashed one of the men across the face, leaving a 12cm gash under his ear.