Former Sinn Féin general election candidate jailed for drug offences

Naas Circuit Criminal Court heard Martin Kelly, aged  46, a separated father from Hazelmere, Naas, Co Kildare, had been caught with cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy during a search by gardaí of the pub he ran in Naas, Co Kildare.

A former Sinn Féin general election candidate has been sentenced to three years in prison for the possession of drugs worth over €15,000.

Martin Kelly, who contested the 2011 election as Sinn Féin’s candidate in the Kildare North constituency, had pleaded guilty to 16 separate charges relating to the possession of €15,200 worth of drugs at Swan Kelly’s pub on Newbridge Road, Naas, Co Kildare on September 3, 2019.