Ireland Case No. 0958Public order (threatening, insulting and abusive words or behaviour), breach of International Protection Act 2015 (publishing identifying information) · Co. Dublin · 22 Aug 2024
Appeal date set for man jailed over IPAS breach in Dublin
Paul Nolan, 36, a father of three from Leopardstown, Dublin, stood outside an IPAS centre in Tallaght on 22 and 26 August 2024, questioning and filming seven asylum seekers, including teenagers, before posting four video clips on YouTube that revealed their faces. He was charged with a public order offence and four counts under Section 26 of the International Protection Act 2015, and pleaded not guilty at Dublin District Court. Judge John Hughes convicted him on all charges, describing the conduct as repeated, premeditated and targeted, and sentenced him to 10 months with the final three months suspended. Nolan was released after lodging an appeal, and the appeal hearing has been set for 18 May 2026.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court7 Nov
- Verdictnot reported
- Sentenced25 Sep
5 reports
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Paul Nolan, 36 (one report gives 37), a father of three and community employment scheme worker from Leopardstown, Dublin, stood outside an IPAS centre in Tallaght on 22 and 26 August 2024, questioning and filming seven asylum seekers including teenagers, a young woman, and three middle-aged men.
- Nolan posted four video clips on his YouTube channel revealing the faces of the asylum seekers, with captions including 'Time to document these people ourselves' and 'Cheeky fella these economic welfare scammers'.
- Nolan threatened a teenage boy that he would break his nose, questioned a man from Gaza about why he was not fighting in his own country, and told the applicants they had no right to privacy in Ireland.
- Where
- The incidents took place outside the St John's House IPAS centre in Tallaght, Dublin.
- When
- The filming and questioning took place on 22 and 26 August 2024.
- Investigation
- Garda Inspector Nigel McInaw headed the investigation, examining phone videos and bank records linking Nolan to the YouTube account, while Detective David Sheahan identified Nolan from CCTV evidence.
- Charges
- Nolan was charged with threatening, insulting and abusive words or behaviour under the Public Order Act and four counts under Section 26 of the International Protection Act 2015 for publishing information likely to identify an applicant.
- In court
- At Dublin District Court, Judge John Hughes convicted Nolan on all charges, describing the conduct as repeated, premeditated and targeted, and noting it was the first prosecution under Section 26.
- Sentence
- Nolan was sentenced to 10 months with the final three months suspended, conditional on supervised probation, an anger management course, staying away from IPAS facilities for two years, and removing the videos.
- Other details
- Nolan had 47 prior convictions including 19 for drug offences and a previous six-month jail term for dangerous driving.
- Nolan was released after lodging an appeal, and the appeal hearing was set for 18 May 2026 before the District Court Appeals, with legal aid granted and an Arabic interpreter requested for witnesses.
78 statements extracted from the articles
- whatPaul Nolan is 36 and lives at Mount Eagle Square, Leopardstown, Dublin (rte.ie)
- whatNolan questioned teenage boys, a young woman, and three middle-aged men at the facility (rte.ie)
- whatNolan posted four video clips on his YouTube channel that revealed the faces of the applicants (rte.ie)
- whatNolan is a father of three and works on a community employment scheme (rte.ie)
- whatNolan had 47 prior convictions including public order charges, 19 for drug offences, and was previously jailed six months for dangerous driving (rte.ie)
- whatThe father of two boys filmed said his sons were aged 14 and 17 at the time (rte.ie, thejournal.ie)
- whatNolan threatened one of the teenage boys, saying he would break his nose (rte.ie, irishtimes.com)
- whatNolan questioned a man from Gaza about why he was not fighting in his own country (thejournal.ie)
- whatThe videos featured three middle-aged men, two teenage sons (aged 14 and 17), a 15-year-old boy, and his 22-year-old sister (thejournal.ie)
- whatJudge Hughes described Nolan's conduct as repeated, premeditated and targeted (thejournal.ie)
- whatNolan claimed he was unaware the building was an IPAS centre (thejournal.ie, irishtimes.com)
- whatNolan claimed he learned from Taoiseach Micheál Martin and RTÉ news that 80 percent of asylum seekers were economic migrants (thejournal.ie, irishtimes.com)
- whatWitnesses from Palestine and Jordan gave evidence in court (thejournal.ie)
- whatNolan threatened a teenage boy saying he would break his nose (thejournal.ie)
- whatNo permission was sought for the boy to be recorded or for the images to be shared. (gript.ie)
- whatNolan claimed he had not known the facility was a centre for IP applicants until after he was arrested. (gript.ie)
- whatNolan questioned teenage boys, a young woman and three middle-aged men staying at the facility. (irishtimes.com)
- whatNolan told the applicants that in Ireland they have no right to privacy. (irishtimes.com)
- whatNolan posted four video clips on his YouTube channel that revealed the faces of the asylum seekers. (irishtimes.com)
- whatVideo captions included 'Time to document these people ourselves' and 'Cheeky fella these economic welfare scammers'. (irishtimes.com)
- whatNolan questioned a man from Gaza about why he was in Ireland and not fighting in his own country. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe father of two boys filmed by Nolan said his sons were aged 14 and 17 at the time. (irishtimes.com)
- whatNolan told an applicant 'I already got your face, no need to put your hand up' and mimicked their accents. (irishtimes.com)
- whereNolan is from Mount Eagle Square, Leopardstown, Dublin 18. (irishtimes.com)
- whereNolan stood outside an Ipas centre in Tallaght, Dublin. (irishtimes.com)
- whenNolan stood outside the IPAS centre on 22 and 26 August 2024 (rte.ie)
- whenThe filming took place on 22 and 26 August 2024. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe incidents happened on 22 and 24 August 2024. (irishtimes.com)
- causeNolan posted videos of his interactions with migrants on YouTube. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGarda Inspector Nigel McInaw headed the investigation which examined phone videos and bank records linking Nolan to the YouTube account (rte.ie, thejournal.ie)
- investigationDetective David Sheahan identified Nolan from CCTV evidence (rte.ie, thejournal.ie)
- chargeNolan was charged with threatening, insulting and abusive words or behaviour under the Public Order Act (rte.ie)
- chargeNolan was charged with four counts under Section 26 of the International Protection Act 2015 (rte.ie)
- chargeNolan pleaded not guilty to a Public Order Act charge and four counts under Section 26 of the International Protection Act 2015 (thejournal.ie)
- chargeNolan pleaded not guilty to engaging in threatening, insulting and abusive words or behaviour under the Public Order Act. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeNolan denied four counts under Section 26 of the International Protection Act 2015 of publishing information likely to identify an applicant. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeHe was found guilty of breaching the International Protection Act 2015 (gript.ie)
- chargeNolan pleaded not guilty to charges of threatening and abusive behaviour under the Public Order Act. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeNolan denied four counts under Section 26 of the International Protection Act 2015. (irishtimes.com)
- courtNolan pleaded not guilty at Dublin District Court (rte.ie)
- courtThis was the first prosecution brought for the Section 26 offence, punishable by a 12-month sentence (rte.ie)
- courtJudge John Hughes described Nolan's conduct as repeated, premeditated and targeted (rte.ie)
- courtJudge Hughes called Nolan's conduct a disgraceful display of rudeness, hyena-like behaviour, and ignorance (rte.ie)
- courtWitnesses from Palestine and Jordan gave evidence at the trial (rte.ie, irishtimes.com)
- courtJudge John Hughes noted this was the first prosecution for the Section 26 offence, punishable by 12 months (thejournal.ie)
- courtThe defence pleaded for acquittal but the judge held the evidence was sufficient to convict (thejournal.ie)
- courtJudge John Hughes heard the case. (gript.ie)
- courtOisín Clarke BL was prosecuting. (gript.ie)
- courtMs. Lydia Doyle BL was defending. (gript.ie)
- courtJudge Hughes convicted the accused on all charges. (gript.ie)
- courtJudge John Hughes noted this was the first prosecution brought for the Section 26 offence. (irishtimes.com)
- courtDublin District Court jailed Paul Nolan (gript.ie)
- courtThe judgment has been appealed (gript.ie)
- courtThe appeal hearing was scheduled for May 18th before the District Court Appeals. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe prosecution asked for the appeal hearing to be given priority with a full day set aside, and the defence agreed. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe appeal judge granted legal aid to the appellant and requested an Arabic interpreter for witnesses. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceNolan was given a ten-month sentence with the final three months suspended (rte.ie)
- sentenceSuspended portion is conditional on supervised probation, an anger management counselling course, and staying away from IPAS facilities for two years (rte.ie)
- sentenceThe videos must be taken down if not already done (rte.ie, thejournal.ie)
- sentenceNolan was given a 10-month sentence with the final three months suspended (thejournal.ie)
- sentencePaul Nolan was jailed for 7 months. (gript.ie)
- sentenceNolan was sentenced to 10 months in jail on one charge with 3 months suspended for 2 years. (gript.ie)
- sentenceConditions include staying away from all IPAS centres, engaging with probation services, completing an anger management course, no direct or indirect contact with asylum seekers, and a bond of €500. (gript.ie)
- sentenceThe balance of the charges were taken into consideration. (gript.ie)
- sentenceNolan was given a 10-month sentence with the final three months suspended with conditions. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceThe videos must be taken down. (irishtimes.com)
- sentenceNolan received a 10-month sentence, with the final three months suspended. (irishtimes.com)
- otherNolan had 47 prior convictions including 19 for drug offences and a previous six-month jail term for dangerous driving (thejournal.ie)
- otherNolan is a community employment scheme worker and father of three from Mount Eagle Square, Leopardstown, D18 (thejournal.ie)
- otherIt was the first case of its kind in Irish judicial history. (gript.ie)
- otherNolan is a father of three with an address at Mount Eagle, Sandyford. (gript.ie)
- otherOf those involved, three were teenage boys, one young woman, and three middle aged men. (gript.ie)
- otherMorrison and her husband are currently homeless. (gript.ie)
- otherNolan has 47 previous convictions, including 24 for road traffic offences, 19 for drugs offences, 2 for Public Order Act breaches, and 6 others. (gript.ie)
- otherThe judge said Nolan used 'a tissue of lies, wrapped in a shroud of pseudo-citizen journalism'. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe judge described the conduct as 'a disgraceful, glorious display of rudeness, hyena-like behaviour, and ignorance of the people involved'. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe Act prohibits the identification of persons seeking international protection in Ireland (gript.ie)
- otherNolan was released after lodging an appeal against his conviction. (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 7 Nov2025Appeal date set for YouTuber jailed for posts identifying asylum seekers
Reports the scheduling of Nolan's appeal of his conviction and sentence, with the hearing set for May 18th next. Prosecution asked for priority and a full day, and the defence agreed. Adds that Nolan was released after lodging the appeal and that legal aid was granted.
convicted, Paul Nolan, 37, male, named, irish (judged from name)Paul Nolan - 26 Sep2025The jailing of Paul Nolan and court reporting - Gript
Reports the jailing at Dublin District Court and notes that the judgment has been appealed.
convicted, Paul Nolan, male, named, irish (judged from name)Paul Nolan - 25 Sep2025YouTuber becomes first person jailed over posting videos of asylum seekers online
Sentencing report. Nolan received 10 months (3 suspended) and the videos must be taken down. Judge Hughes described the conduct as 'repeated, premeditated and targeted' and 'a disgraceful, glorious display of rudeness, hyena-like behaviour, and ignorance of the people involved.' Nolan had 47 prior convictions.
convicted, Paul Nolan, 36, male, named, irish (judged from name)Paul Nolanvictim, 14, malevictim, 17, malevictim, male - 25 Sep2025Self-described citizen journalist jailed - Gript
Provides the full trial account, witness evidence, prosecution and defence submissions, and the detailed sentencing with conditions for Paul Nolan's conviction.
accused, Paul Nolan, 36, male, named, irish (judged from name)Paul Nolanvictim, 14, malevictim, male, Palestinian, non-irishvictim, 15, malevictim, female - 25 Sep2025YouTuber becomes first person jailed for posts exposing identities of asylum seekers
Provides full sentencing details: 10-month sentence with 3 months suspended, conditions (supervised probation, anger management course, 2-year ban from IPAS facilities, videos taken down), judge's comments, Nolan's 47 prior convictions, witness testimony, and investigation details.
convicted, Paul Nolan, 36, male, named, irish (judged from name)Paul Nolanvictim, male, non-irish (judged from name)victim, male, non-irish (judged from name)victim, malevictim, 14, malevictim, 17, malevictim, 15, malevictim, 22, female - 25 Sep2025Man jailed over online posts exposing asylum seekers
Provides full sentencing details: ten-month sentence with three months suspended, conditions of supervised probation, anger management course, two-year ban from IPAS facilities, and requirement to take down videos. Includes Judge Hughes' comments, defence arguments, Nolan's 47 prior convictions, and investigation details.
convicted, Paul Nolan, 36, male, named, irish (judged from name)Paul Nolanvictim, malevictim, malevictim, malevictim, 14, malevictim, 17, malevictim, 15, malevictim, 22, female