Eight men accused of IRA membership were arrested after a garda swoop on a used car lot in west Dublin, the Special Criminal Court heard today
The court was told that gardai who searched the area found cable ties. balaclavas, a Glock pistol, a baseball bat and pepper spray among other items.
Stock image of a Glock
The eight are: Kevin Braney (40), of Glenshane Crescent, Tallaght , Des Christie (50), of Liam Mellows Road, Finglas, Eamon McNamee (34), of Larkfield Square, Lucan, Hubert Duffy (47), of George’s Place in Dublin 1, William Jackson (55), of Dooncourt, Poppintree, Declan Phelan (33), of Lanndale Lawns, Tallaght, John Brock (42), of Glenview Park, Tallaght, and Darren Murphy (44), of Rory O’Connor House in Dublin 1.
All eight have pleaded not guilty to membership of an illegal organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the IRA on March 29th, 2013.
Opening the prosecution case Ms Tara Burns SC said that members of the Garda National Surveillance Unit observed the eight at various locations in Finglas and Clondalkin on the morning of March 29th, 2013. She said that around midday members of the Emergency Response Unit entered the yard of a used car sales lot in Clondalkin and arrested the eight men.
In follow up searches of two vans, an office and kitchen, gardai found cables ties, gloves, balaclavas, a baseball bat, a lump hammer, a pepper spray and a Glock pistol.
Ms Burns said that after their arrest the eight men were interviewed at various garda stations. She said some of them made no reply when questioned, some of them denied membership of the IRA and some of them gave answers to garda questions which were untrue.
She said the court would be invited to draw inferences from the responses of the eight men to garda questions.
Ms Burns said that the prosecution case against the men would rely on the sightings of the accused by the National Surveillance Unit, items found after their arrest, their responses to garda questioning and the opinion evidence of Detective Chief Superintendent Peter Kirwan.
