A schoolboy has pleaded guilty to travelling in stolen cars which rammed a Garda vehicle carrying two female officers in Ballyfermot.
After "refusing to get out of bed" to face a hearing on Tuesday, the 15-year-old turned up at the Dublin Children's Court today.
Accompanied to the proceedings by his parents and solicitor Niall Walsh, the Junior Cert student pleaded guilty to 19 charges.
They involved six separate prosecutions for incidents over nine months in Dublin last year when he was 14.
Two of them were for allowing himself to be a passenger in two stolen cars on September 19, 2022, when the patrol car was rammed three times after the gardai responded to a report about joyriders.
Two were for criminal damage to a CCTV system and a fire extinguisher at a residential building in Reuben Square, Dublin 8.
An incident on August 19 led to charges for unlawfully driving a stolen vehicle, having no licence or insurance, failing to produce documents and seven counts of dangerous driving in the Tallaght area.
There were also guilty pleas to being a passenger in a stolen vehicle in the Drimnagh area on May 9, attempted unlawful entry to a motor vehicle in Citywest on April 16, and criminal damage to a car passenger window on June 6 in Tallaght.
A probation report on the teen was furnished to the court, which added a bail condition to stay out of the Tallaght area.
Mr Walsh asked Judge John O'Leary to note the pleas and adjourn the case to allow the boy to sit his exams. He said that would "go into the mix as mitigation".
District Court president Judge Paul Kelly would be presiding on the next date. The solicitor said Judge Kelly had already been supervising the teen, was "extensively involved" in the proceedings and was familiar with the background.
The teen spoke briefly during the hearing to tell Judge O'Leary his Junior Cert exam dates.
Judge O'Leary adjourned the case until June 21, when gardai will give facts on all matters. The boy was remanded on continuing bail.
He has yet to say how he will plead to two other charges: being a passenger in a stolen car in Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford, on April 24 this year, and unlawful interference with a car in Dublin on February 4, 2022.
Videos of the Ballyfermot incident were shared widely on social media, with the clips showing collisions with the patrol vehicle cheered by on-lookers at Cherry Orchard Avenue and Cedarbrook Avenue.
Earlier, Detective Garda Michael McNulty said that after responding to a report of joyriders, the two female gardai were "rammed" by two Toyota Aquas.
The cars had been stolen within the previous 48 hours and were driven dangerously on the date of the incident,
"They proceeded to ram the patrol cars three times," Detective McNulty had alleged, adding that the boy was a back-seat passenger.
His case to remain in the Children's Court.
Reporting by Tom Tuite
