Dublin woman charged with possessing gun when aged 17

A young woman has been accused of possessing a Smith & Wesson revolver and five rounds of ammunition at her home in Dublin.

Tia Byrne, now aged 18, with an address at Sheriff Street Lower, Dublin pleaded with a court not force her to surrender her passport which she needed as ID to get into nightclubs.

She was charged on Friday morning at Store Street station.

She was accused of two offences under the Firearms Act for unlawful possession of a .38 calibre Smith & Wesson air-weight special revolver and five rounds of .38 special calibre Sellier and Bellot ammunition.

The gun and bullets were allegedly seized at her home address on February 18th, 2018, when she was aged 17.

She appeared at the Dublin Children's Court on Friday because the alleged offence happened when she was a minor, however, Judge Brendan Toale heard the teen has reached adulthood.

Legal aid was granted to the 18-year-old part-time worker.

She spoke briefly during the hearing and said how much she earned, however, there has been no indication as to how she intended to plead.

Garda Sandra Kirwan said the defendant “made no reply to the charges after caution”.

There was no objection to bail subject to conditions.

Defence solicitor Michelle Finan said this was the first time Ms Byrne had been in court or on bail.

Garda Kirwan asked Judge Toale to order the defendant to surrender her passport and to reside at her address and to sign on twice weekly at Store Street station. She cited the seriousness of the charge and possible flight risk.

The passport was handed over to gardaí in court.

The solicitor pointed the young woman required it “to get into nightclubs”.

Judge Toale ordered that it was to be handed over to gardaí but they must facilitate her if she needed it to obtain alternative photo ID.

She was remanded on €100 bail to appear again in eight weeks to be served with a book of evidence and returned for trial.