Chief Supt tells trial of organising Garda raid

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.

Chief Superintendent Gerard Kelly said that he "tasked" a Detective Inspector to investigate the planned meeting after receiving a briefing about it.

The court has heard that eight men charged with membership of an unlawful organisation were arrested when a large party of gardaí raided a house in the Shanabooley Road area of Limerick in December 2001.

Prosecuting counsel Mr John Edwards SC has told the court that gardaí found a note in the house which referred to firearms and had other references to a person "wanted for knee cap job"' and to a "safe house".

Mr Edwards said that the State's case against the eight men was the belief of two Chief Superintendents, Gerard Kelly and Sean Feeley that they were members of an unlawful organisation on December 17, 2001.

He said this belief was supported by other evidence, including material found during a search of the house in Limerick where the men were arrested.

All eight men have pleaded not guilty to a charge that on December 17, 2001, within the State, they were members of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise the IRA, otherwise Oglaigh na hEireann.

They are Des Long, aged 62, Vice President of Republican Sinn Fein, of Shannon Banks, Limerick, Matt Conway, aged 67, a member of RSF's Ard Comhairle, of Nicholas St, Kilcullen, Co Kildare, Patrick Kenneally, aged 58, of Crusheen, Co Clare, Patrick O' Shea, aged 54 of Sir Harry's Mall, Limerick, Gerard ``Ger'' Brommell, aged 43, of Rostura Crescent, Woodview Park, Limerick, Robert McNamara, aged 59, of St Michael's Avenue, Tipperary, Joseph ''Tiny'' Lynch, aged 61, of Beechgrove Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick and Christopher Dunne, aged 28, of Donnellan Buildings, Rosbrien, Limerick.

Cross examined by Mr Martin Giblin SC, for O' Shea, Chief Superintendent Kelly denied that he had leaked information to the press in Limerick about a planned robbery around the time of the raid.

He said that his belief that O'Shea was a member of an illegal organisation came from "human sources, not necessarily singular".

The Chief Superintendent said that he did not know the identity of the informant who supplied information to the gardaí about O'Shea.

He said that he had not paid any money to informants in relation to this garda operation.

The Chief Superintendent said that while had a Secret Service fund available to him for payments to informants, he had not applied to the Department of Justice to replenish the fund as a result of the operation.

He said that a large number of detectives from Limerick as well as members of the Special Detective Unit from Dublin had taken part in the garda raid on the house but he denied a suggestion by Mr Giblin that it was "a Keystones cops" operation.

"I would describe it as a professional garda operation, carefully planned and put into operation for the safety of the gardai and the safety of the men in the house," he added.

Chief Superintendent Kelly said that he was not aware until after the garda raid that two men had left the house shortly before the raid. He said that these two men were arrested last year but denied a suggestion by Mr Giblin that this was because they had given statements to the defence in the trial.

Cross examined by Mr Brendan Nix SC, for Lynch, the Chief Superintendent said that the house in Shanabooley Road was put under surveillance after certain people had been tracked going to it.

The trial is continuing.