Sailor jailed and discharged from Defence Forces

A 24-year-old naval service sailor has been jailed for three months and discharged from the Defence Forces for texting the location of his ship to his girlfriend.

Father of one, Able Seaman Eoin Gray admitted disclosing information about the operation of State ships at sea without authority at his court martial hearing at McKee Barracks in Dublin.

Able Seaman Eoin Gray had denied five charges, including conspiring to import drugs and possession of cocaine.

His lawyer Rossa Maguire said however those charges had been dropped and that Seaman Gray's plea to one count of disclosing information about the operation of state ships at sea had been accepted.

Mr Maguire said his client's texting his girlfriend about the location of his ship was an entirely private matter and there was nothing sinister in his doing so.

In sentencing him to three months in jail and discharging him from service, Colonel Anthony McCourt said it would not be possible for Seaman Gray to regain the trust of his superiors and that he had no future in the service.