A Limerick man convicted yesterday of membership of the Continuity IRA worked in Templemore garda training college, Dublin Castle and banks throughout Munster, the Special Criminal Court heard today.

Six men were cleared of being members of the Continuity IRA and one man was convicted of the charge at the Special Criminal Court today after one of the longest trials in the history of the court.

Defence submissions continued today at the Special Criminal Court trial of seven men accused of membership of the Continuity IRA in Limerick in 2001.

A Tipperary man told the Special Criminal Court today that the front door of a house came down on top of him when gardai raided a house in Limerick where they suspected a meeting of the Continuity IRA was taking place.

A Limerick man told the Special Criminal Court today that he was at a Republican Sinn Fein meeting discussing a forthcoming republican commemoration when gardaí raided a house in the city.

A Co Clare man arrested at an suspected Continuity IRA meeting in Limerick denied at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin today that he was ever a member of an illegal organisation.

The defence case in the biggest ever trial of dissident republicans at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin will continue next Tuesday.

The vice president of Republican Sinn Fein (RSF) and the organisation's PRO in Limerick denied at the Special Criminal Court today that they were members of the IRA or any paramilitary organisation.

The Special Criminal Court today refused applications by lawyers for seven men accused of membership of the Continuity IRA for a direction to acquit them.

The Special Criminal Court has ruled that a large part of the State case against seven men accused of membership of the Continuity IRA in Limerick cannot be admitted in evidence.

The Special Criminal Court today heard further legal submissions from defence counsel for seven men accused of membership of the Continuity IRA in Limerick.

Legal submissions continued today at the Special Criminal Court trial of seven men accused of membership of the Continuity IRA in Limerick.

Defence lawyers for seven men accused of membership of the Continuity IRA argued at the Special Criminal Court today that the gardai had no power to arrest the men on suspicion of membership of an illegal organisation without a warrant.

A Limerick man denied that a meeting at house in the city was a Continuity IRA inquiry into the acquiring of guns by criminals in the city, the Special Criminal Court was told today.

One of seven men arrested at a suspected meeting of the Continuity IRA in Limerick, denied that guns were discussed at the meeting, the Special Criminal Court heard today.

Gardai in Limerick had information that the Continuity IRA was hiring out guns to criminal elements in the city, a detective garda told the Special Criminal Court today.

One of seven men suspected of membership of the dissident Continuity IRA told gardai that he was a member of Republican Sinn Fein and was not involved in any illegal organisation, the Special Criminal Court was told today.

One of seven men arrested at an alleged Continuity IRA meeting in Limerick told gardaí that the men were all members of Republican Sinn Fein and not members of an illegal organisation, the Special Criminal Court was told today.

Fingerprints belonging to one of seven men on trial for membership of the Continuity IRA were found on a note seized during a suspected meeting of dissident republicans, the Special Criminal Court has heard.

A detective garda who took part in a raid on a house in Limerick where a suspected Continuity IRA was taking place, made a number of errors in his witness statement, the Special Criminal Court heard today.

A detective garda who took part in a raid on a house in Limerick where a suspected Continuity IRA was taking place, today denied that gardai "hassled" members of Republican Sinn Fein.

Fingerprint experts made additional marks on a note seized by gardai during a raid on a suspected Continuity IRA meeting in Limerick, a garda witness told the Special Criminal Court in Dublin today.

Gardaí raiding a house in Limerick where a suspected Continuity IRA meeting was taking place found a handwritten note containing references to firearms, "knee cap job" and "a safe house", the Special Criminal Court in Dublin heard today.

A Detective sergeant who took part in a Garda raid on a house in Limerick where a suspected Continuity IRA meeting was taking place has said he saw a number of men move from the front room as gardaí were breaking down the front door.

A Detective Sergeant who led a garda raid on a house in Limerick where a suspected Continuity IRA meeting was taking place told the Special Criminal Court in Dublin today that he believed it was "possible and probable" that firearms were in the house when he ordered another garda to break down the front door.

A Detective Sergeant who led a garda raid on a suspected Continuity IRA meeting in Limerick denied at the Special Criminal Court today that shots had been fired during the swoop.

A Garda Chief Superintendent told the Special Criminal Court today that he had confidential information that a meeting of the Continuity IRA would take place in Limerick when he organized a Garda raid on a house in the city over a year ago.

Eight men went on trial at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin today in the biggest trial yet in the State of suspected members of the dissident republican group, the Continuity IRA.

Six of the eight men arrested after a police swoop on a house in Limerick have been refused bail.