Dublin restaurateur has Audi that was seized by gardaí returned after High Court order

A Dublin restaurateur has had an Audi Q8 returned to him, after gardaí seized the vehicle from the garden of his Wicklow home. Shane Lyons (58), who also goes by Sean O Listháin, is the owner of a restaurant called La Cosa Nostra, located on Thomas Street, Co Dublin. He has been a resident of Wicklow since 2023, after purchasing a new-build house in an upmarket Wicklow housing estate for more than €600,000. His Audi was seized by gardaí under Section 109A of the Road Traffic Act 1961, and he previously appeared at a sitting of Bray District Court seeking to have the Audi Q8 returned. When the case returned to the same court this month, Sergeant Mick Dee informed the court that the car had already been returned to Mr Lyons by the High Court. After his initial hearing, Mr Lyons had claimed that the issue arose after his son allegedly 'tipped' a neighbour's car. He previously told Independent.ie: 'No complaint was made. I sorted it.' He added that when gardaí came to his house, they asked for his insurance details and he 'told them they could get them from the national police database'. Shane Lyons (58), who also goes by Sean O Listháin, outside his restaurant. © Shayne Phelan Mr Lyons claimed that at the time officers arrived at his house, he was confined to his bed and had been taking painkillers, after suffering from cellulitis. The restaurateur added that gardaí had refused to return the Audi for almost three months and had 'overstepped' in seizing it. In 2000, Mr Lyons received a four-year prison sentence for possession of more than €100,000 worth of cannabis. Eleven years later, he received a four-year sentence for the assault of his ex-girlfriend by strangling her and pushing her friend to the floor after a night out in Dublin city centre. Defence barrister Pieter Le Vert explained back in 2011, at a sitting of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, that his client was in a 'dark place' at the time of the assault, as he had just broken up with his wife. Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme