A man has appeared in court accused of pouring paint over a statue of the iconic Irish folk musician, Luke Kelly, near St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin.
Michael Dunne, of Sophia House, Sean McDermott Street in Dublin, is already accused of damaging another statue of Luke Kelly on the northside of the city.
Garda Sean Scully told the court that CCTV footage captured a man cycling up to the Luke Kelly statute on South King St. on June 23rd.
He said it would be alleged that he got off his bike and threw a large amount of paint over it.
Garda Scully claimed the footage traced this man’s cycle back to Sean McDermott Street afterwards, and allegedly shows him discarding a bag along the way.
He said the investigation team believed a man with a bag seen leaving the same address on a bike sometime beforehand was the same suspect, whom they believe to be the accused, Michael Dunne.
Before he was granted bail, Mr. Dunne took the stand to deny it was him.
He’s due back in court in September in relation to this charge, and a separate charge accusing him of damaging the Luke Kelly statue on Sheriff St. earlier this month.
