Ireland Case No. 2440Assault causing harm · Co. Dublin · 29 May 2024
Martin Ball granted bail after being charged with bus assault in Rathfarnham, identified via RTÉ Crimecall
A woman was assaulted on the S8 Go Ahead bus at the Eden Avenue stop on Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14, on the morning of 29 May 2024, when a man grabbed her bag, blocked her path, grabbed her by the neck and hair, and attempted to throw her off the bus. The suspect, Martin Ball, 36, of Springfield, Tallaght, was identified through CCTV footage broadcast on RTÉ's Crimecall on 27 January 2025 and was arrested less than 24 hours later on 28 January 2025. He was charged with assault causing harm and appeared before Judge Paula Murphy at Dublin District Court on 29 January 2025, where he was granted bail with conditions including no contact with the victim or witnesses, residing at his current address, signing on three days a week, and staying off the S8 Go Ahead bus. He was remanded on a €300 bond to appear on 12 March 2025 for the DPP's direction to be conveyed.
- Reported28 Jan
- Arrested28 Jan
2 reports - Charged29 Jan
- In court29 Jan
2 reports - Verdict
- Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- A woman was assaulted on the S8 Go Ahead bus in Rathfarnham, Dublin 14, when a man grabbed her bag, threw it down the aisle, blocked her path, grabbed her by the neck and hair, and attempted to throw her off the bus.
- The victim was on her way to work when the incident occurred.
- Where
- The assault occurred at the Eden Avenue bus stop on Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14, on the S8 Go Ahead bus route travelling towards Dún Laoghaire.
- When
- The assault took place on the morning of 29 May 2024 at around 8:30am.
- Investigation
- The suspect was identified through CCTV footage broadcast on RTÉ's Crimecall on 27 January 2025 and was arrested less than 24 hours later on 28 January 2025.
- Charges
- Martin Ball, 36, of Springfield, Tallaght, was charged with assault causing harm to a woman at Grange Road.
- In court
- He appeared before Judge Paula Murphy at Dublin District Court on 29 January 2025 and was granted bail with conditions including no contact with the victim or witnesses, residing at his current address, signing on three days a week, and staying off the S8 Go Ahead bus.
- He was remanded on a €300 bond to appear on 12 March 2025 for the DPP's direction to be conveyed, and free legal aid was granted.
- Other details
- The accused has no prior convictions and works full-time.
76 statements extracted from the articles
- whatThe suspect is a male in his 30s wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe victim was on her way to work when the incident unfolded. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe man grabbed the woman's bag and threw it down the aisle, then blocked her path, grabbed her arm and pushed her down the bus. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe suspect grabbed the victim by the hair and dragged and pushed her towards the open door. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe man grabbed the woman by the neck and hair and attempted to throw her off the bus. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatAfter getting off the bus, Gardaí believe the man went down a laneway to the Grange Court estate, which is the last time he was seen. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe incident was unprovoked and left the victim badly shaken. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe assault happened on a busy bus in broad daylight. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatA woman was assaulted on a commuter bus service in Rathfarnham, Dublin 14. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatA woman was attacked on a bus in Rathfarnham, Dublin (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe suspect was arrested less than 24 hours after the Crimecall broadcast (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe man in his 30s was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe woman was thrown to the floor and pushed towards the door where her hair was pulled (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe attacker was trying to force the victim off the bus (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe man grabbed her bag, threw it up the aisle, then blocked her path and pushed her towards the driver (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe attacker grabbed the woman by the neck and pulled her hair (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe driver stopped the bus and another passenger tried to intervene (irishtimes.com)
- whatA man in his 30s was arrested in connection with the assault of a woman on a bus in Dublin. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe woman was on her way to work when the assault occurred. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatCCTV footage showed the man assaulting a woman sitting diagonally opposite him. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe man threw the woman's bag down the bus. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe man grabbed the woman's neck and hair. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe man attempted to throw the woman off the bus. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe CCTV footage was broadcast on Crimecall on Monday. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatMartin Ball, 36, of Gleann na hEorna, Springfield, Tallaght, was charged with assault causing harm to a woman at Grange Road. (irishtimes.com)
- whatMartin Ball, 36, of Gleann na hEorna, Springfield, Tallaght, appeared before Judge Paula Murphy at Dublin District Court. (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe man boarded the S8 bus in Belgard Square West in Tallaght. (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe assault occurred at the Eden Avenue bus stop on Grange Road in Rathfarnham. (irishmirror.ie)
- whereThe incident occurred on the S8 bus route in Rathfarnham. (dublinlive.ie)
- whereThe bus was travelling towards Dún Laoghaire on the S8 route (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe attacker got on the bus at around 8.30am at Belgard Square, Tallaght (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe woman got on at the Eden Avenue stop when the bus reached Grange Road, Rathfarnham (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe attacker alighted and appeared to go into a laneway in the Grange Court estate in Rathfarnham (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe alleged incident took place at Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe assault took place on 29 May 2024 at around 8:30am. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe assault took place on the morning of Wednesday 29 May 2024. (dublinlive.ie)
- whenThe attack occurred on the morning of 29 May (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe assault took place on 29 May 2024. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe alleged incident occurred in Rathfarnham, Dublin 14, on 29 May 2024. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe alleged assault occurred on 29 May 2024. (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationOfficers in Rathfarnham have been investigating the assault. (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationThe incident was highlighted by Gardaí on RTÉ's Crimecall. (dublinlive.ie)
- investigationA man in his 30s was arrested on 28 January 2025. (dublinlive.ie)
- investigationThe man is detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a Garda station in Dublin. (dublinlive.ie)
- investigationGardaí thanked the public for assistance following the Crimecall appeal. (dublinlive.ie)
- investigationInvestigations into the incident are ongoing. (dublinlive.ie)
- investigationInsp Pat Duggan is leading the investigation from Rathmines Garda station (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe man was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a Garda station in Dublin on Tuesday night. (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationThe incident was featured in a public appeal for assistance (RTÉ Crimecall) the week before the hearing. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe court sergeant noted the accused had been identified through Crimecall. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe accused was identified through RTÉ's Crimecall programme. (irishmirror.ie)
- chargeHe is charged with assault causing harm to a woman. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtThe man is due to appear before the Criminal Court of Justice in Dublin. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtHe appeared before Judge Paula Murphy at Dublin District Court on Wednesday. (irishtimes.com)
- courtHe was granted bail with a condition not to travel on a specific bus route. (irishtimes.com, irishmirror.ie)
- courtGarda Sergeant Bryan Duff said directions from the DPP needed to be obtained due to the nature of the case. (irishtimes.com)
- courtHe did not address the court and has yet to indicate a plea. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThere was no objection to bail with conditions. (irishtimes.com)
- courtNo evidence about the alleged assault was given during the brief hearing. (irishtimes.com)
- courtJudge Murphy ordered him to have no contact directly or indirectly with the alleged injured party or any witness. (irishtimes.com)
- courtHe was ordered to reside at his current address. (irishtimes.com)
- courtHe was ordered to sign on three days a week at his local Garda station. (irishtimes.com)
- courtHe was ordered to stay off the S8 Go Ahead bus, which goes through Rathfarnham to Cabinteely. (irishtimes.com)
- courtJudge Murphy said because of the lengths gardaí had to go to locate him, she was leaving the requirement to sign on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. (irishtimes.com)
- courtJudge Murphy held that he was a suitable candidate for free legal aid, which was granted. (irishtimes.com)
- courtGarda Sergeant Bryan Duff furnished a certificate outlining the evidence of arrest, charge, and caution. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtDirections from the Director of Public Prosecutions needed to be obtained before the case could proceed. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtNo evidence about the alleged assault was given during the hearing. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtBail conditions included no contact with the injured party or witnesses, residing at his current address, signing on three days a week, and staying off the S8 Go Ahead bus. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtHe was remanded on a bond of €300 to appear again on 12 March for the DPP's direction to be conveyed. (irishmirror.ie)
- courtFree legal aid was granted to the accused. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThis was the first episode of CrimeCall in 2025. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherHe was dressed in a black coat, blue jeans, black runners and cream jumper. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe accused was dressed in a black coat, blue jeans, black runners and cream jumper. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe S8 Go Ahead bus goes through Rathfarnham to Cabinteely. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe accused worked full-time and had no prior convictions. (irishmirror.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 30 Jan2025Man charged with attacking a woman on bus was identified through RTE's Crimecall
First court appearance; bail granted with conditions including signing on three days a week and staying off the S8 Go Ahead bus. DPP direction to be conveyed on 12 March 2025.
victim, femaleaccused, Martin Ball, 36, male, named, irish (judged from name)Martin Ball - 29 Jan2025Man charged with bus attack on woman in Rathfarnham was identified after Crimecall broadcast, court told
Provides details of the bail hearing including the judge (Paula Murphy), defence solicitor (Mr McMorrow), Garda Sergeant Bryan Duff, specific bail conditions (no contact, reside at address, sign on three days a week, stay off S8 Go Ahead bus), the €300 bond, the next court date of 12 March 2025, and that free legal aid was granted.
victim, femaleaccused, Martin Ball, 36, male, named, irish (judged from name)Martin Ball - 29 Jan2025Man, 30s, charged in connection with shocking Crimecall bus assault due in court
Adds details of the CCTV footage showing the specific actions (throwing bag, grabbing neck and hair, attempting to throw her off the bus), confirms detention under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984, and notes he is due before the Central Criminal Court.
victim, femalesuspect, 30s, male - 28 Jan2025Gardaí arrest suspect following release of video of Rathfarnham attack on Crimecall
Reports the arrest of the suspect following the Crimecall broadcast, with detailed description of the attack sequence, the suspect's movements on the bus, and the investigation led by Insp Pat Duggan from Rathmines Garda station.
victim, femalesuspect, 30s, male - 28 Jan2025Man arrested in connection with assault of woman on a Dublin bus
Reports the arrest of a man in his 30s following the RTÉ Crimecall appeal; he is detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a Garda station in Dublin.
victim, femalesuspect, 30s, male - 28 Jan2025Garda appeal after man viciously assaulted woman in unprovoked bus attack
This is the RTÉ CrimeCall appeal episode that led to the identification of the suspect (later charged as Martin Ball) in the Rathfarnham bus assault case. The article provides detailed CCTV descriptions of the suspect and the sequence of the assault.
victim, femalesuspect, 30s, male