SF members lose appeal against IRA membership convictions

The Court of Criminal Appeal has dismissed an appeal by two Dublin Sinn Féin members against their convictions for IRA membership.

Niall Binead (aged 36), of Faughart Road, Crumlin and Kenneth Donohoe (aged 27), of Sundale Avenue, Mountain View, Tallaght were each jailed for four years by the Special Criminal Court in 2004 after they were convicted of membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish

Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the IRA on October 10, 2002.

During their trial the court heard that gardaí found a list of TD's, including three former Justice Ministers, at Binead's home. Binead is a former secretary of a south Dublin Sinn Féin cumann and was a close associate of Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South Central Aengus O' Snodaigh.

Today Ms Justice Fidelma Macken, presiding at the three-judge appeal court, dismissed the appeals by the two men. Binead has been in custody and Donohoe's counsel Mr Conor Devally SC said that his client, who was granted bail in November last year, would present himself at Portlaoise Prison tomorrow morning to serve his sentence.

Mr Justice Diarmuid O'Donovan presiding at the Special Criminal Court said that the two men had not been convicted solely on the word of a Garda Chief Superintendent. The Chief Supt's belief was taken into account along with their failure to answer material questions when interviewed by the gardaí about documents found at the homes of the two men and in the context of suspicious activity at Corke Abbey, Bray, Co Wicklow on October 10 2002, the judge said.

The trial was told that the men were arrrested after gardaí arrested five other men following suspicious activity around three vehicles in Corke Abbey, Bray, Co Wicklow on the same date.

Inside a transit van gardaí found four men, a sledgehammer, two pick axe handles, eight bags of ties, radios, a black balaclava, rubber gloves and a yellow fluorescent jacket with the words "Garda" labelled on it.

In a Nissan car with false number plates they found a blue flashing beacon, a Long Kesh baseball cap, a stun gun, a canister of CS gas and a roll of black tape. Binead's thumbprint was found on the roll of black tape in the Nissan and another car involved in the incident at Bray belonged to a woman who was Donohoe's partner.

During the trial the three judges at the Special Criminal Court examined secret garda files on the two accused which were not seen by either the prosecution or defence legal teams.

Mr Peter Finlay SC , for Binead, submitted that section 2 of the 1998 Amendment to the Offences Against the State Act did not remove the right to silence, it qualified it to the extent that inferences could be drawn from a refusal to answer certain questions.

Mr Conor Devally SC, for Donohoe, submitted that the the Special Criminal Court judgment was "fatally flawed" because the judges, who acted as both judges and jurors, had examined material which as triers of facts they should not have looked at. They had used material taken from the garda files to "boost" the opinion of the Garda Chief Superintendent that Donohoe was a member of the IRA.

Counsel for the DPP, Mr Tom O' Connell, submitted that the Special Criminal Court was within its own jurisdiction to examined the garda files and had properly done so. He said that defence counsel for the two men had challenged the Chief Superintendent's claim of privilege and the court had decided to read the relevant files.

Ms Justice Macken said that the Special Criminal Court had been correct in coming to the conclusion that both men were associated with the events at Corke Abbey. The appeal court also found that there was no reason to conclude that anything found in the material examined by the

Special Criminal Court was influential in that court making its judgment.

The court also found that the Special Criminal Court was entitled to draw inferences from the failure of the two men to answer any question in the course of interview. The court also found that the Special Criminal Court was entitled to reach the conclusions it did.

"The trial court's finding that the facts and inferences taken together with the belief evidence of the Chief Superintendent established beyond reasonable doubt the charges against the applicants as accused was also a correct finding and conclusion."