Court dismisses Real IRA membership appeal

The Court of Criminal Appeal today dismissed an appeal by Real IRA member Liam Campbell for membership of an illegal organisation.

Liam Campbell, 41, was sentenced to eight years in prison in May 2004 for membership of the Real IRA in October 2000 and July 2001. The three-judge court refused to grant the married father of two of Upper Faughart, Dundalk, Co Louth, an appeal.

Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns told the court: “The court has decided to dismiss this appeal and will give its reason at a later stage.”

Campbell was given two four-year sentences to run consecutively for his conviction of membership of an illegal organisation. He had pleaded not guilty to both charges but his legal team did not challenge the prosecution evidence and made no submissions on his behalf.

Mr Michael O’Higgins SC, representing Campbell, told the court an appeal should be granted as the law of the land did not stipulate that the Real IRA was an illegal organisation.

Mr O’Higgins SC claimed section 18 of the Offences Against the State Act drew no distinctions between the Provisional IRA, Real IRA and Official IRA.

“We have no case. The law of the land could not be clearer. The law of the land as far as this case is concerned is unstable,” Mr O’Higgins SC said.

He also contended that a similar case in the North had been sent to the House of Lords for a final determination.

He compared Irish legislation to the English Prevention of Terrorism Act 2000, which set out a schedule for the prescribing of organisations. He claimed the English Act simply provided for “The IRA” and did not draw distinctions for splinter groups.

The Special Criminal Court jailed Campbell in May of last year. The non-jury court suspended the final 18 months of the sentence and ordered that it should date from May 1, 2001 to take into account time Campbell had already spent in prison.

Campbell is one of five men being sued in a £10m (€14.5m) lawsuit by relatives of the victims of a 1998 Omagh bomb atrocity which killed 29 people and injured more than 300.

The state argued today that legislation covered all republican terror groups, dissident or otherwise.

Mr Birmingham SC told the court that the offences against the State Act was not required to stipulate various groups which claimed to be the Irish Republican Army.

“There can be no doubt whatsoever that the IRA in all its styles, Provisional, Real and Official, are all caught by Section 18 of the Offences Against The Act,” Mr Birmingham SC said.”

He also argued that both the Gardaí and the public knew full well that membership of the Real IRA was illegal.

A full ruling from the three Appeal Court judges will be made available at a future date.

Campbell, who has served more than three years in custody has also been hit with a judgment valued at more than €800,000 by the Criminal Assets Bureau for suspected revenue offences.