![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3_IMG_0720.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRyan Byrne, 32, cried in Athy District Court as he appealed to Judge Desmond Zaidan to let him out of custody so he could return to his family<\/p>\n
Ryan Byrne, 32, of Shrowlands, Athy, Co Kildare as he is brought to the town’s courthouse on Tuesday.(Image: Irish Mirror)<\/p>\n
A man charged over a Garda operation that seized drugs and firearms has cried in court as he pleaded with a judge to release him on bail.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am begging you,\u201d Ryan Byrne, 32, said from the dock as he asked Judge Desmond Zaidan to release him so he could return to his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will do whatever you want me to do,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
He made his appeal as he appeared at Athy District Court on Tuesday following an operation by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau on Saturday that saw some \u20ac560,000 of suspected cannabis seized as well as 11 firearms and ammunition.<\/p>\n
Mr Byrne, of Shrowlands, Athy, Co Kildare, is facing four charges over the operation – and appeared in court in the town with another man on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Gardai objected to bail for both men – and Mr Byrne later directly appealed to the judge to release him.<\/p>\n
Mr Byrne told the judge he was not concerned for himself – but for his parents.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI don\u2019t care about myself. I need to be there for my mother. I need to be there for my father, I am begging you. I would do whatever you want me to do. I just want to be with my parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have no money at all. I live in a mobile home that\u2019s leaking. If we had any money we wouldn\u2019t be living in houses that are leaking. My mother is a very sick woman, I don\u2019t care about myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Byrne was brought to court in Athy on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
And he insisted he would not skip bail – which was one of the Garda objections to the release of him and his fellow accused, Polish national Piotr Michalczyk.<\/p>\n
Mr Byrne said: \u201cI have no intention of running – run home to my family, that is all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minutes earlier, 43-year-old Mr Michalczyk – speaking through an interpreter – had also asked the judge to be released on bail.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI am 43 years old. I have never had any problems with law in any country. I do not intend to run. Whatever conditions you decide, I will comply with.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Polish](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0_JS412492793.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Polish national Piotr Michalczyk, 43, of Roseberry Hill in Newbridge Co Kildare. He also appeared in Athy District Court on Tuesday morning over the drugs and gun seizure.\n<\/p>\n
The judge refused bail for both men after hearing objections from gardai.<\/p>\n
The court had earlier heard that both men had been arrested after the DOCB operation in which three machine guns and eight pistols were seized, as well as more than 900 rounds of ammunition and drugs worth some \u20ac560,000. Some 11 guns were seized in the wider Garda operation, the court heard – but both men are charged with possessing one pistol.<\/p>\n
Michalczyk, of Roseberry Hill in Newbridge, Co Kildare is facing five charges.<\/p>\n
He is accused of possessing a Makarov pistol at Oldcourt Bog in Athy on Saturday.<\/p>\n
He is also alleged to have possessed cannabis for sale or supply at the same date and location. He faces a charge of possessing cannabis on the same date and at the same location.<\/p>\n
He is further alleged to have possessed seven rounds of 9mm ammunition at Oldcourt Bog on the same day.<\/p>\n
And the final charge against him is of money laundering relating to the discovery of \u20ac22,840 and \u00a31,560 in cash at his address in Newbridge, also on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Ryan Byrne, 32, of Shrowlands in Athy is facing four charges: one of possession of cannabis, another of possession of cannabis for sale or supply; another of possessing a Makarov handgun and one of possessing seven rounds of 9mm ammunition. All the offences are alleged to have taken place at Oldcourt Bog in Athy in July 11, last Saturday.<\/p>\n
The court heard the charges for both men relate to an investigation into a \u201csophisticated criminal organisation\u201d.<\/p>\n
Detective Sergeant Shane Kiely of DOCB told the court he arrested Mr Michalczyk at 3:52 p.m. on Monday at Newbridge Garda Station in Co Kildare, and he was charged at 6:37 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe made no reply to each of the charges after caution,\u201d Det Sgt Kiely told the court.<\/p>\n
The court heard the accused has been in Ireland since April.<\/p>\n
Det Sgt Kiely objected to bail on a number of grounds including the seriousness of the alleged offences; the risk of the accused skipping bail and also the possibility of witness interference.<\/p>\n
He said it was the Garda belief that Mr Michalczyk was a person trusted by a criminal organisation in which he played an integral role.<\/p>\n
He said the accused had no ties to the State and would be required to commit criminality in order to recoup the loss suffered by the crime gang. The detective said the defendant had admitted during the interview that he wanted to return to Poland permanently.<\/p>\n
The detective said: \u201cThere were 11 firearms seized in this operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe (the accused) will continue to commit further offences on bail, or flee the jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo conditions would allay my concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Detective Garda Kate Gilligan, also of DOCB, said she arrested Ryan Byrne at 4.18pm on Monday and he was charged at 6.17pm.<\/p>\n
Det Gda Gilligan told the court: \u201cIn reply to each charge after caution, Ryan Byrne said \u2018It was not mine.\u2019<\/p>\n
She also objected to bail on a number of grounds including the seriousness of the charges and the nature of the evidence against Byrne.<\/p>\n
The detective told the court that Mr Byrne was addicted to cannabis which he took for his anxiety.<\/p>\n
She also said one reason for objecting to bail for Byrne is that she believed he may be required to commit further criminal activities to recoup the crime gang\u2019s financial losses from the Garda seizures.<\/p>\n
The drugs, firearm and ammunition were found in a blue container on the bog after gardai got a warrant on Saturday and it was alleged in court that a key for it was found among Mr Michalczyk\u2019s car keys.<\/p>\n
It was further alleged that the blue container was under Mr Byrne\u2019s control on land owned by his family and that he had been caught red handed.<\/p>\n
Both men were refused bail and were remanded in custody to appear at Naas District Court in Kildare via video link next Tuesday.<\/p>\n