A FURIOUS relative of a young mother-of-two who was killed when struck by a car was removed by gardaí from a courtroom yesterday after hurling a glass decanter at the car's driver.
The man's actions came after the three-judge Court of Criminal Appeal refused to jail the driver and instead imposed community service upon him.
The decanter narrowly missed the driver and shattered on a wall.
Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns subsequently called for an "urgent security review", adding that risks to those working in and attending court "should not be tolerated".
The chaos erupted after the court refused the DPP's application to jail Andrew Keogh (24), Carmody Way, Fairgreen, Portlaoise, who admitted dangerous driving causing the death of Sabrina Lynch (28), a nursing home care worker. The court instead imposed 120 hours of community service.
Keogh had received a three-year suspended sentence last February, plus a €2,500 fine and a seven-year driving ban, after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on April 21st, 2006, at Mount Seskin Road, Brittas, causing the death of Ms Lynch.
Keogh was driving his car with three passengers at 120km/h in a 60km/h zone when he crashed into a car at the entrance to a caravan park. In its judgment, the court noted that Keogh had not been drink-driving or racing.
The young male relative of Ms Lynch, who was sitting in the public gallery, expressed immediate fury at the judgment, rose to his feet, shouted profanities at Keogh, and climbed over the barristers' benches towards the judges' bench.
While standing on a table in front of the court's registrar and the judges, he picked up a glass decanter and threw it towards Keogh.
The glass shattered on impact but did not strike anyone.
The young man, still shouting, was then removed from the courtroom by gardaí.
When the court resumed after a short break, it was told that the young man had been detained and it was intended that charges would be brought against him.