Afghan men appear in court

Thirty-three Afghan men appeared in Kilmainham District Court in Dublin yesterday on charges relating to their occupation of …

Thirty-three Afghan men appeared in Kilmainham District Court in Dublin yesterday on charges relating to their occupation of St Patrick's Cathedral last week.

The men, who were on week-long hunger strike in the cathedral, are charged under Section 3 of the Forcible Entry and Occupation Act 1971. Judge Bridget Reilly remanded them on continuing bail of €250 on condition they stay away from St Patrick's and stay at designated State-owned hostels. They are due to appear in court again on June 19th when they will hear what, if any, prosecution the DPP is to take against them.

The men, aged between 16 to 61, were in court for just under an hour. While there were no changes to the conditions of bail, 13 of them successfully applied to change their addresses to hostels in Tralee, Galway and Cork.

Olivia Kelly

Olivia Kelly

Olivia Kelly is Dublin Editor of The Irish Times