Gun-toting GAA player is jailed

[Loughers]

I've seen spurious connections, but this is ridiculous. I've barely heard of Liffey Gaels, but it says he was successful, and that's it.  What a bag of sh1te:

Gun-toting GAA player is jailed

Trevor Brunton: GAA player had 9mm weapon in nightclub

By Sonya McLean
Thursday March 06 2008

A successful GAA player who was renting an apartment for the sole purpose of preparing heroin for sale was jailed for nine years yesterday after being caught with a loaded handgun in a nightclub.

Trevor Brunton (25) of Broombridge Road, Cabra West, pleaded guilty to possession of the gun at the Spawell Hotel, possession of the heroin worth €159,361 for sale or supply at Sandlewood Road, Castleknock, and possession of ammunition at his home address on December 30, 2006.

Detective Sergeant Joe Molloy told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that Brunton had the gun for possibly three reasons. He could have brought it to the nightclub as a "bravado to impress girls", to give it to someone else or to use for protection.

He said Brunton, a GAA player with Liffey Gaels, never gave a "satisfactory explanation" for why he had the pistol. "We honestly have no idea why he had it there," Det Sgt Molloy added.

He admitted Brunton was used by others because, as far as the gardai were concerned, "he was a new and unknown face".

Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Brunton to eight years in prison for the drug charge and a consecutive five-year term for possession of the pistol. He suspended the last four years of the sentence on condition that Brunton keep the peace and be of good behaviour for four years upon his release from prison.

Judge Nolan said he took into account Brunton's plea of guilty, his relatively blameless record -- having one previous road traffic conviction -- and the fact that he co-operated with gardai.

Det Sgt Molloy told prosecuting barrister Remy Farrell BL that a security guard at the nightclub saw Brunton in a toilet cubicle looking at the pistol in his hand.

He came voluntarily out of the cubicle and was restrained, but on walking through the nightclub, Brunton tried to lift the gun into his hand. Another security guard slapped his wrist, causing the weapon to fall to the ground.

It was picked up and placed in a money bag before it was handed over to gardai. The weapon was later found to be a 9mm semi-automatic pistol with eight rounds of ammunition in the magazine.

His home address was searched that same night where 13 rounds of various ammunition were found as well as the keys to the Castleknock apartment. A search of the apartment revealed 32 bags of heroin and 78 rounds of ammunition.

- Sonya McLean

[BallyhaiseMan]

successful     

hes a club player FFS

anything to make the GAA look bad.

[rosnarun]

an alternative headline might be

'Irsh Independant reader' goes on gun rampage in night club

[theskull1]

successful     

hes a club player FFS

anything to make the GAA look bad.

There was me thinking there was such a thing as a successful club player. 

I kinda get the sentiment about the media overinflating the story but still BhM...youre not exactly making the ordinary GAA man feel good about themselves with that type of comment

[ziggysego]

The Independent..... what else!