The Special Criminal Court has sentenced Glen Ward, a criminal referred to as “Mr Flashy” during a recent High Court case, to 5½ years in prison for firing a semi-automatic during a house party.
Ms Justice Melanie Greally said the firearm Ward used during the party in Finglas, Dublin was powerful and capable of causing serious injury or death.
The judge noted that gardaí found the weapon alongside a “sizeable cache” of ammunition. Video footage retrieved from a phone showed Ward, having already fired the gun, encouraging his younger brother Eric O’Driscoll to take and discharge the firearm, she said.
Ward (32) previously pleaded guilty to a charge that on January 1st, 2022, at an address in Finglas, he possessed or had control of a .223 calibre Remington AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in circumstances giving rise to a reasonable inference that he did not have it for a lawful purpose.
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O’Driscoll (23) pleaded guilty to possession of the same gun.
Gardaí discovered the rifle alongside a military submachine gun during a search of a house in Finglas in February 2022.
Ward was named in the High Court as the leader of the north Dublin organised crime group known as ‘The Gucci Gang’, so-called due to members having a liking for designer goods.
The group was very active in the drugs market from its base in Finglas, with members regarded as dangerous criminals and high priority targets for the Garda’s specialist units.
Ms Justice Greally said that in June of that year, gardaí responded to reports that shots had been fired at a taxi on the Tolka Valley Road. When they searched the taxi, they found a phone that they were later able to connect to O’Driscoll.
Analysts discovered a video clip on the phone in which Ward could be seen pointing the AR-15 rifle towards the sky and firing. Ms Justice Greally said a number of young people were present and watching. Ward, she said, then handed the firearm to O’Driscoll, who fired three shots into the air.
In passing sentence, Judge Greally said there is a “certain unreality” to the suggestion that Ward had only a fleeting involvement with the firearm.
However, she accepted that there was a “dearth of evidence of his relationship to the firearm” and his plea was accepted based on what can be seen in the video clip.
In mitigation, she considered the negative impact spending his first seven months in prison on 23-hour lock-up with his brother had on Ward’s mental health. A prison governor’s report provided to the court stated that Ward’s behaviour has improved recently.
The court also noted that Ward had undertaken not to associate with six individuals whose names were handed into the court.
Ms Justice Greally sentenced him to six years and three months but suspended the final nine months. The defendant must keep the peace and be of good behaviour for 12 months after his release or he could serve the suspended portion of the sentence.
The court previously jailed O’Driscoll for five years.
In a statement after the sentencing, Det Supt Paul Murphy said An Garda Síochána acknowledges the convictions and sentences imposed by the Special Criminal Court on O’Driscoll and Ward.
He praised the commitment of detectives based in Finglas and said criminals like O’Driscoll and Ward “act and believe that they are above the law”.
“My message to young people in our communities is that there is nothing positive that these criminals can offer you and their actions are motivated by greed and are only self-serving. You are disposable to them.”
