Mullingar armed with knife caught on CCTV doorbell system at his own home

A knife wielding Mullingar man who attempted to attack his own brother was caught on his own video doorbell system, a court has heard.

Shane Gavin (25) of 7 Grange Lawns, Mullingar, Westmeath turned up at his address just after 3pm on July 20, 2024 while armed with a Stanley knife.

Mullingar District Court heard gardaí had been called to the estate following the incident and were informed Mr Gavin had been in the immediate area twice in a matter of minutes.

Sgt Orla Keenan, for the state, said Mr Gavin was spotted “brandishing a Stanley knife” on the first occasion during which he was confronted by an older sibling before leaving the area soon after.

The incident led gardaí to issue the aspiring forklift driver with a Section 9 (5) knife possession charge, which Mr Gavin pleaded guilty to at a court sitting in October.

A second charge relating to the possession of a metal-bladed implement was withdrawn by the state.

Sgt Keenan said: “Shane Gavin had been in the area to confront another brother and attempts were made to gain entry to 7 Grange Lawns to assault his brother,” she said.

Gardaí later arrested the accused at a different location and Mr Gavin later admitted his culpability in interview with detectives.

Sgt Keenan said much of the state evidence rested on recordings taken from a CCTV doorbell, which had captured much of the incident.

The court heard Mr Gavin had not come to garda attention in the past and no previous convictions.

Louis Kiernan, defending, described the incident as an “unusual event” which had led to his client’s temporary exclusion from the family home.

“He spent a period of time out of the house after that and spent four days in custody as it was looked upon very seriously, and rightly so,” said Mr Kiernan.

In the 16 months since, Mr Kiernan said relations had “massively improved”, firstly via a bail variation application that allowed Mr Gavin to return home, and second by his own efforts in trying to turn his life around.

“He has signed up for a forklift course in the new year,” he said. “Relations at home are good, and he has a girlfriend who is expecting next summer.”

Mr Kiernan said the incident had come largely as a result of the “bad place” Mr Gavin had found himself in at the time, from an emotional and psychological perspective.

“There was a lot of tension at one stage and it manifested itself on this particular day in what was a serious incident,” he said, adding that it was “something of an aberration” for the accused.

Having been told by Mr Gavin of his current reliance on €230 a week by way of Jobskeekers Allowance, Judge Owens directed the soon to be father to pay €200 to the Mullingar EYE project.

Judge Owens remanded him on bail to Mullingar District Court on April 16, 2026 and indicated if those monies were in court on that date, she would apply section 1 (1) of the Probation Act.