Footlocker workers describe chaos on night of 2023 riots

By Eimear Dodd

Shop workers from three stores looted during the Dublin riots have described feeling fear and panic on the night of the Dublin riots.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard victim impact statements from a staff member of  Footlocker, O’Connell Street and from two staff working at Lifestyle Sports, Mary Street during the sentence hearing of Thomas Dannevig (21).

Dannevig of Marram Avenue, Lanestown View, Donabate Co. Dublin, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary on November 23, 2023. He entered two Footlocker stores on O’Connell Street and Mary Street and a Lifestyle Sports store on Mary Street and took items.

The court was told that Dannevig was not involved in the riots that evening, which started after some children and childcare workers were attacked on Parnell Street earlier that day.

He was identified by members of public after his photo was included in the release of 99 images of individuals nominated as people of interest in relation to the Dublin riots investigation.

The court heard that Dannevig acted individually but was part of a wider group who went into the shops.

He is not charged in relation to criminal damage at the shops and is only being held culpable for his individual behaviour, the court was told.

Karl Monahan BL, defending, said Dannevig had been in town for food with friends and had no criminal intention.  He said his client “describes himself as having made an obviously stupid decision in relation to his behaviour on the night”.

Dannevig later discarded the items he took.

A staff member at Footlocker O’Connell Street said in her victim impact statement that “life is not the same anymore”.

She said she has been living in Ireland for 19 years and considered moving back to her home country as she “didn’t feel safe here” after that night.

She said she was “terrified that night as I was in the shop a few minutes before this happened”. She said she cried on the way home, worried if she would get back safe.

She said staff worried that the shop would not re-open after the riots and were afraid they would lose their jobs. She said some staff left Ireland and others took a leave of absence.

The deputy manager at Lifestyle Sports said she had only recently started working in the shop. She said the outside changed “suddenly and drastically” with the normally busy and noisy street becoming “unnervingly quiet”.

She decided to close the store and they were trying to leave as quickly as possible. She said her heart dropped when she heard a loud smashing sound and her only thought was to protect her team.

She said she felt frozen and worried what would happen if the people came upstairs, where staff had locked themselves in a room

She described feelings of anxiety and panic in the aftermath and said she couldn’t return to work at the store.

She said the experience has “shaken me so deeply I no longer felt safe in the space I once was comfortable in” and that she underwent counselling through work. She said crowded places still make her feel uneasy and she is now more cautious and carries a sense of fear she never had before.

Another staff member at Lifestyle Sports said she did not return to work for several days after the riot and was then afraid to go upstairs in the shop for a week afterwards.

She said she got panic attacks for a while closing the shutters and suffered with nightmares and flashbacks. She said “anyone involved should be punished for their stupid behaviour that night”.

A fourth victim impact statement was handed to the court, but not read aloud.

CCTV tracked Dannevig going from one shop to the other. Footage was shown of his actions in each of the three premises.

At Footlocker on O’Connell Street, Dannevig is seen going to a stockroom carrying two white baseball caps under his arm, then leaving the store carrying four Nike shoeboxes. 

Some 25 minutes later, he entered the Footlocker on Mary Street, still carrying the Nike shoeboxes.

He looked around the shop, went to the storeroom then left.

Dannevig then went to the Lifestyle Sports, where he enters the shop, still carrying the Nike boxes and with other items in his hands. The court was told it is difficult to tell from the footage what items he took.

He picked up a blue Lifestyle Sports bag, then filled it with items. He then left the store with one Nike box and the bag, which the investigating garda said “appears pretty full”.

Dannevig met gardai by appointment in January 2025. He was interviewed once and made some admissions.

He said that he was given the items and boxes, but the court was told gardai do not accept this.

Dannevig apologised, said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that he was not in right head space. He has one previous conviction for a minor drugs charge.

The garda agreed with Mr Monahan that his client’s early guilty plea was of value to the prosecution. A letter of apology from Dannevig was handed to the court along with letters from his family.

Mr Monahan said his client offers a “profound and sincere apology” and is deeply ashamed.

He said his client wasn’t thinking of the impact on shop workers that night, but  unfortunately became part of a group of people, which put the injured parties in a situation of fear.

Mr Monahan asked the court to take into account his client’s relative youth. Dannevig’s mother and stepfather were in court to support him and are horrified by his actions.

He has started a pre-apprenticeship and a course, but is not currently working, Mr Monahan said.

Counsel asked the court to consider imposing a suspended sentence. Dannevig is willing to carry out community service and had come to court with €350, which he would increase by €50 a week if given more time by the court.

Judge Pauline Codd said she would direct the preparation of a probation report, including an assessment of his suitability for community service. 

Noting his youth and prosocial background, she said Dannevig needs to find work and “remain on the prosocial path”.

She also said that Dannevig needs to save, “get off any weed” and “look towards becoming self-sustaining and contributing to society”.

The Footlocker on O’Connell Street was locked at 7pm, and was later broken into and a large amount of stock taken after the doors were kicked in.

An investigating garda told Justin McQuade BL, prosecuting, about €160,000 of stock was taken, with lost sales estimated at €100,000.

This shop remained closed until January 2024, due to damage to the shutters, tills and clothes rails.

The Footlocker on Mary Street closed around 7.15pm. A manager taking the float upstairs heard glass breaking and male voices.

She put the money into the safe, then got her staff upstairs. They all left the shop through an emergency exit on the roof of the Ilac Centre.

The estimated stock loss at Footlocker Mary Street was around €112,000, with another €120,000 in lost revenue and approximately €60,000 in damage.

The Lifestyle Sports next door was also looted. The deputy manager recalled selling a balaclava to a middle-aged woman who told her she was going to join the protest.

She decided to close the store early after seeing that Arnotts was closing.  As staff were cashing up, they heard shouting outside, then a window to the left of the shutter was smashed.

Staff ran to the lift with the deputy manager running back to get the cash float of around €2,000.

They locked themselves in the CCTV office and were later led out of the premises through the basement by a security guard.

The lost stock at this shop is estimated at €168,000 with €88,000 in lost revenue and damage of about €60,000.

A staff member of Lifestyle Sports also told gardai she lost a personal bag containing presents worth between €500 and €600, though this is not attributed to Dannevig.