Two young Dublin men have been given sentences of seven and four and a half years for possessing a handgun in suspicious circumstances in a stolen car.

The trial of alleged Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt for directing terrorism ended at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin today in his absence.

A senior prison officer in Port Laoise jail, who was allegedly punched in the jaw by convicted drugs baron John Gilligan, has said Mr Gilligan threatened to kill him and a colleague along with both of their families.