Man appears in court in connection with violent scenes in Portlaoise

A Portlaoise man has been charged in connection with a violent incident in Portlaoise last weekend.

At today's (Friday, June 22) sitting of Portlaoise District Court, Jason Murphy (25), with a Portlaoise address but directed by the court to reside in another part of Laois, was charged with assault causing harm, at Hillview Drive, Portlaoise, on June 16 this year.

Garda Eoin Gardiner said the accused was arrested on June 20 last and charged on June 21. The accused made no reply when charged.

Inspector Aidan Farrelly told the court there were no DPP directions yet and the State was requesting six weeks.

The accused was granted bail, subject to a number of conditions: he must reside at a listed address outside of Portlaoise; he must observe a curfew of 10pm to 7am; he must have no contact with any witnesses in the case; he must stay out of Hillview in Portlaoise; he must have no social media engagement with anyone involved in the matter; he has to sign on once a week at the garda station; and he is to be contactable by gardaí at all time.

The matter was adjourned to September 13 for DPP directions.

The arrest arises out of a major disturbance in the Knockmay area of Portlaoise last weekend, which involved a confrontation between a number of people. During the violence several people suffered injuries and one woman was hospitalised with a head injury.