16-year-old youth with 74 previous convictions, charged with bail breach by wearing Bloody Sunday top

A 16-year-old youth who is a resident of a children's home has appeared at Derry Magistrate's Court charged with breaching his bail by playing what was described as a rebel song and wearing a Bloody Sunday top.

The youth who cannot be named due to his age appeared on what a police officer told the court was his seventh breach.

The court heard that the youth was told by a social worker to turn down the music and was said to have replied 'I can do what I like when I like.'

A police officer said that there had been previous breaches and said that they had 'no confidence' the youth would abide by any conditions.

The court was told that the youth had 74 previous convictions of which 32 were violent offences.

Defence solicitor Derwin Harvey said that the breach was definitely not accepted.

He said that the music he was playing was 'The Streets of New York which is as rebel a song as Jingle Bells.'

The solicitor said that the top he was wearing was an O'Neill's GAA Bloody Sunday memorial top.

He added that the request to stop playing the music was not a reasonable request and as a result his client had spent two nights in custody.

The solicitor said that there had been no complaints from any other of the residents of the home but once the Social Worker made a complaint it had to be acted upon.

District Judge Oonagh Mullen said that part of the bail conditions was that he had to abide by 'reasonable requests' from staff in the home.

She said the attitude towards staff showed 'an absolute lack of respect'.

The judge told the defendant he must show respect to staff and not speak to them the way that was being alleged.

The youth was re-admitted to bail to appear again on February 21.