A MAN has been charged in connection with the incident in St Patrick’s cemetery, Dundalk, which saw several people injured on Sunday 21 July, one man seriously.
James McDonagh, 28, was arrested at the scene and was today charged with the unlawful use of a car and dangerous driving.
Appearing before Drogheda District Court, McDonagh was denied bail and will remain in custody until his next court date on 30 July, this time at Cloverhill District Court.
The incident, which was caught on camera and shared across social media sites, involved McDonagh stealing a car from the carpark of St Patrick’s cemetery before driving it at high speed into a crowd of people who were gathered for the annual Blessing of the Graves.
NEWS: One person has been arrested after a car drove through crowds at a Blessing of the Graves ceremony in Dundalk. https://t.co/OZ4jkTkTnm pic.twitter.com/2sbtR0occI
— LMFM RADIO (@LMFMRADIO) July 21, 2019
One man received serious head injuries and is currently being treated in Beaumont Hospital.
The Irish Sun are reporting that a child was in the back seat of the car when it was hijacked, but managed to escape before the man collided with pedestrians.
Speaking of the incident, Fr Mark O’Hagan told Morning Ireland: “children were crying, people just walking in disbelief at what had happened, fear in people’s faces,”.
No motive has yet been confirmed, but more details are expected to emerge during McDonagh’s next court date.
