A Louth man has been acquitted of IRA membership after the Special Criminal Court found it could not rely on the belief evidence of a Garda Assistant Commissioner as being independent from the investigation.

The Special Criminal Court trial of a Louth man accused of IRA membership has heard that two "very well made" and "viable" improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found in a car that gardai had stopped on the N52 in County Meath.

Police in Northern Ireland seized three guns and a quantity of ammunition after a loyalist paramilitary show of strength.