'Some form of artist': vandal avoids jail for causing €60k in damage to train carriages, assaulting worker

Sean Cullen, aged 22, of Hope Avenue, East Wall, Dublin 3, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of criminal damage and one count of common assault. The charges related to incidents at the Fairview DART Depot on 25 September 2021, where he pepper-sprayed an Irish Rail employee during a confrontation, and to graffiti damage caused to train carriages at multiple locations between February 2020 and November 2021. The total damage caused amounted to €60,914, with Irish Rail estimating additional costs of €40,000. The injured employee sustained a swollen face and back injury but has since made a full recovery. Judge Martin Nolan imposed a four-year sentence, fully suspended, on condition that Cullen does not reoffend. The judge noted Cullen's remorse, his current employment as an apprentice electrician, and the €2,000 restitution offered to the victim. No further offences have been recorded since his arrest.