Louth man convicted of IRA membership

A Co Louth man was convicted of IRA membership by the Special Criminal Court in Dublin today.

Barry O'Brien (aged 38), a father of three, from Mountainview Court, had denied membership of an illegal organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hÉireann, otherwise the IRA on April 6, 2004.

During the three-day trial, Chief Superintendent Patrick Magee said in evidence it was

his “strong belief” that O' Brien was an IRA member.

Superintendent Magee also said he had known O'Brien for many years on a personal basis, and was very familiar with his activities “and of his involvement with the IRA.”

Garda forensic witnesses told the court they were “satisfied” O'Brien's fingerprints were found on items seized from a car in Dublin in 2003, in which firearms were covered.

The driver was subsequently convicted of IRA membership, while two other men arrested during the operation pleaded guilty to possession of firearms.

The court was also told that books of raffle tickets for “POWs”, walkie-talkies and €6,000 in cash was discovered when Gardaí searched O'Brien's house in April 2004.

O'Brien denied these were for IRA fund-raising purposes.

The court heard that during his Garda interviews, he denied being an IRA member on 177 occasions.

But convicting him, Mr Justice Paul Butler, presiding at the three-judge court, said that the court accepted the belief evidence of Chief Superintendent Magee.

The judge said that he was "uniquely qualified" in that he knew the accused and his activities for a long time, going back to when he was a Sergeant and later a superintendent in Dundalk.

The judge said that the court accepted that O' Brien had failed to answer material questions during his interviews with gardaí relating to the finding of his fingerprints and the court was satisfied that this amounted to corroboration of the belief of the Chief Superintendent.

The court remanded O' Brien in custody for sentencing next February.