A Cork man accused of Real IRA membership denied to gardai that he was a member of the IRA or of anything connected to it, the Special Criminal Court heard today.

A man accused of membership of an unlawful organisation said he "was not a member of the IRA of any description or type" and that "the only organisation" he was a member of was Fine Gael, the Special Criminal Court heard today.

The Special Criminal Court will give its ruling next week on an application by defence challenging the validity of the arrest and subsequent detention of one of five men accused of membership of an unlawful organisation.

Two men accused of membership of an unlawful organisation said they were not and never would be members of the IRA, the Special Criminal Court heard today.

Simultaneous searches on the homes of three men accused of membership of an unlawful organisation uncovered items including a bodhran with a man in a balaclava carrying arms and badges inscribed with "sniper at work", the Special Criminal Court heard today.

A Garda Inspector told the Special Criminal Court today that he saw two men place a Real IRA wreath at a republican plot in a Cork cemetery on Easter Saturday in 2003.

Four men accused of membership of an illegal organisation were observed by undercover gardaí arriving at a Co Cork hotel, the Special Criminal Court heard today.

The trial has opened at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin of three Cork men and two Limerick men accused of membership of the Real IRA.

Four men arrested during a garda investigation into the activities of dissident republicans in the Munster area were charged with membership of an illegal organisation at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin today.