Paul Nolan (37) was sentenced to seven months in prison with another three suspended for online posts that risked identifying international protection applicants.
A Dublin District Court appeals judge today adjourned his legal challenge, which will be heard in May next year.
Nolan, of Mount Eagle Square, Leopardstown in Dublin, had pleaded not guilty at the district court to four counts under Section 26 of the International Protection Act 2015, which states that, without the consent, it is an offence to publish in a written publication available to the public or broadcast, or cause to be so published or broadcast, information likely to lead members of the public to identify a person as an applicant.
International protection applicants have the legal right to anonymity in Ireland.
Paul Nolan, 37, of Mount Eagle Square, Leopardstown, Dublin.
News in 90 Seconds – Friday, November 7
Nolan had also denied engaging in threatening, insulting and abusive words or behaviour, under the Public Order Act.
A judge had found him guilty and jailed him in September.
Today, Oisin Clarke BL, for the DPP said the non-jury trial had taken a full day in the district court and the appeal hearing would take at least that. He asked Judge Deirdre Browne to set a date as “priority” for hearing.
Luke O’Higgins BL, for Nolan, applied for free legal aid, saying his client was unemployed and in receipt of social welfare. Judge Browne granted this, saying it was an appropriate case. She set a hearing date on May 18, 2026.
Nolan, who is on bail that was granted pending his appeal, was not required to address the court today.
During the trial in September, the district court heard Nolan stood outside the IPAS centre at St John’s House, High Street, Tallaght, on 22 and 26 August 2024 and questioned teenage boys, a young woman, and three middle-aged men who were staying at the facility.
Nolan goaded applicants, saying, “In Ireland, you have no right to privacy”, and posted videos of his interactions on his YouTube channel, the court was told.
The four clips revealed their faces and were captioned: “Time to document these people ourselves”, “These men are so aggressive, if you’re fleeing war, take your aggression there”, “Cheeky fella these economic welfare scammers”, “I know what I’d do if Ireland went to war, pick up a weapon and fight”.
Nolan, a father-of-three, questioned a man who said he was from Gaza about why he was here and not fighting in his own country.
One clip featured a recording of The Irish Rover by The Pogues and The Dubliners, while showing some applicants heading back into the building; it also had a banner saying “Face’s [sic] we are after”.
Nolan said in evidence that, in his role as an untrained citizen journalist, he had learned about a demonstration outside the building and went to investigate for his YouTube channel.
He knew the building had previously been used by Revenue, and undocumented, unvetted men of military age had moved in; however, he maintained that he was unaware it was an IPAS centre.
He claimed that he learned from a comment by Taoiseach Micheál Martin and from RTÉ News that 80% of asylum seekers were economic migrants.
Finding him guilty, Judge John Hughes had noted that this was the first time a prosecution had been brought for this offence, which is punishable by a 12-month sentence.
Nolan was given a ten-month sentence but had the final three months suspended on condition that he stays under supervised probation, completes an anger management counselling course, and remains away from IPAS facilities for two years.
The videos must also be taken down if that has not been done already
They featured three middle-aged men, including one whose teenage sons, both minors, had been filmed and questioned by Nolan, along with another 15-year-old boy and his 22-year-old sister.