Ireland

Boy (17) third person to be charged with murder of gunman Tristan Sherry in Dublin restaurant

Tristan Sherry (26) was killed after opening fire in Browne’s Steakhouse in Blanchardstown

The boy was remanded to the Oberstown Children Detention Campus following a brief hearing at Dublin District Court on Saturday morning. Photograph: Dave Meehan

Tom Tuite
Sat Jan 13 2024 - 11:55

A 17-year-old youth has been charged with the murder of gunman Tristan Sherry, who was killed following a shooting at a Dublin restaurant in which another man was fatally injured on Christmas Eve.

The boy, who cannot be named because he is a minor, was remanded to the Oberstown Children Detention Campus following a brief hearing before Judge Treasa Kelly at Dublin District Court on Saturday morning.

He is the third person to be charged with the murder.

Sherry (26) was killed following a shooting inside Browne’s Steakhouse in Blanchardstown in which another man, Jason Hennessy snr (48), was fatally injured.

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The teenager will appear at the Children’s Court on Wednesday.

He has the automatic right to anonymity because he is under 18, and mandatory reporting restrictions under section 93 of the Children Act apply.

Det Gda Tom McCarrick of Blanchardstown station told Judge Kelly that the teenager was charged shortly after midnight in the presence of his mother, and he “made no reply to the charge after caution”, and he was handed a true copy of the charge sheet.

The District Court does not have the power to consider bail in a murder case, which requires a High Court application.

Defence solicitor Brian Tunney asked the judge to adjourn the case so the teenager could appear before the Children’s Court in Smithfield on Wednesday morning.

The judge said the teenager was entitled to legal aid and noted there was no garda objection. She assigned solicitor Simon Fleming to represent him.

The boy, wearing a grey tracksuit, sat silently at the side of the courtroom throughout the hearing.

His mother accompanied him, and Judge Kelly remarked that it was “very important” that she was there.

Parents, guardians or a responsible adult must attend criminal proceedings with juvenile defendants unless they have been excused for a valid reason.

The Children Act also states: “No report shall be published or included in a broadcast which reveals the name, address or school of any child concerned in the proceedings or includes any particulars likely to lead to the identification of any child concerned in the proceedings.”

Father of one Sherry was attacked after opening fire inside Browne’s Steakhouse and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Hennessy was shot in the neck and upper body while having a meal with family and friends. Mr Hennessy, from Corduff in west Dublin, was rushed to hospital, but his condition deteriorated, and he passed away last week, resulting in gardaí commencing a separate murder investigation.

Two men were charged earlier with the murder of Mr Sherry; another had related charges; they remain in custody on remand.

Co-defendants David Amah (18), of Hazel Grove, Portrane Road, Donabate, Dublin and Michael Andrecut (22), with an address at Sheephill Avenue in Dublin 15, have been charged with the murder of Mr Sherry.

Wayne Deegan (25), of Linnetsfield Avenue, Phibblestown, Dublin 15, was charged with producing a knife as a weapon during an offence, assault causing harm to Mr Sherry, and violent disorder by using or threatening to use violence, with Mr Amah and Mr Andrecut, that would cause another person present to fear for their safety, at Browne’s Steakhouse on December 24th.

Mr Deegan unsuccessfully applied for bail on Friday at a hearing in which a court heard he claimed he acted in self-defence.

The three men will appear again in court later this month.

Earlier this week, another male was arrested but released from Garda custody pending the presentation of a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

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