Members of three families from Ballymun in Dublin have been given suspended sentences by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after an inter-family feud about rubbish bins.
Judge Joseph Matthews said there was a "Berlin Wall of hostility" between two neighbouring families which developed from minor incidents. David Cray (33), Balbutcher Drive, Eugene McElligott (31), Balbutcher Lane, John Paul McElligott (24), Crannogue Close, and Edward McElligott (32), Balcurris Road, all admitted violent disorder on October 17th, 2001.
Theresa Cray, Balbutcher Drive, and Michael Fitzpatrick (23), Doon Court, pleaded guilty to breach of the peace, as did a 16-year-old youth. Det Garda P.J. Walsh said there had been a confrontation between the Cray family and their neighbours, the Devoys. The hostility originated over an argument about where rubbish bins were placed.