Garda fails to affirm to court that man was IRA member within the State

The trial of a Dublin man accused of membership of an illegal organisation has been adjourned after a Garda Chief Superintendant failed to affirm whether he believed the man was a member of the IRA within the State.

Detective Chief Superintendant Peter Kirwan told counsel for the prosecution, Mr Bernard Condon SC, it was his belief that Barry Fitzpatrick (aged 68) was a member of the IRA on January 4, 2009.

He told Mr Condon that his belief was based on confidential information given to him and was not based any information gleaned from the arrest and detention of the accused man.

Fitzpatrick, with an address at Ashlawn Park, Ballybrack, denies membership of an illegal organisation styling itself on the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the IRA.

At the conclusion of the evidence, presiding judge Mr Justice Paul Butler said he believed an application would normally have been made by the defence at this juncture.

As Fitzpatrick is representing himself, Mr Justice Butler observed that Chief Supt Kirwan had failed to state whether he believed Fitzpatrick was a member of an illegal organisation within the State.

Mr Justice Butler then adjourned matters until tomorrow morning to allow the prosecution time to prepare a response.

The court had heard how Fitzpatrick was arrested shortly after 10pm on the night of January 4, 2009, as he tried to gain access to an apartment at the ‘Ramparts’ complex in Loughlinstown, Dublin 18.

For several hours prior to his arrest, detectives had observed Fitzpatrick drive his grey Honda Accord estate car between the Silver Tassie pub in Dublin 18 and the ‘Ramparts’ apartment complex in the company of two men.

He also drove in convoy with a green Honda Civic car, which was later stopped and searched by members of the Special Detective Unit and found to contain two ME .38 calibre sportwaffen revolvers and ammunition.

Detective Garda Bronagh Brogan told the court that as she arrived to execute a search warrant on Apartment 68, the Ramparts, at 10pm, a man emerged carrying a pink hold-all.

The hold-all was found to contain five revolvers identical to the kind uncovered during the search of the green Honda Civic car.