Court archive
Court reports mentioning Newtown, Cork
2018-03-07 · Cork
In a Special Criminal Court hearing, Sean Walsh, aged 51, was found guilty of membership in the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Walsh had denied being a member on 14 December 2016, but the court accepted evidence from Chief Superintendent Barry McPolin, who testified that he was certain of Walsh's membership based on confidential information. Detective Sergeant Patrick Murphy supplied further evidence, including surveillance reports and a search of a house on Old Commons Road where a bag containing firearms, ammunition, latex gloves and a black woolly hat was found; the hat's DNA matched Walsh's. The court also heard that Walsh had met with co‑accused Joseph Walsh, Michael Gilmartin and a fourth man at Old Commons Road on 29 November and 6 December, and that the group had been involved in a shooting on 7 December. The case was adjourned for sentencing on 16 March.
2018-02-12 · Cork
The Special Criminal Court will deliver a verdict on March 2 in the case of Sean Walsh, 51, of Co Cork, who is accused of membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army on December 14, 2016. Walsh pleaded not guilty to the charge. The prosecution alleged that Walsh was present at a house on Old Commons Road where a bag containing firearms and ammunition was found, and that his DNA matched a woolly hat recovered from the scene. It further alleged that Walsh met co-accused Joseph Walsh and Michael Gilmartin at a petrol station before they entered a house at Chestnut Drive, Cobh, where a sawn-off shotgun, a 9mm pistol, and ammunition were seized. Joseph Walsh, 36, and Michael Gilmartin, 47, both pleaded guilty to possession of the firearms and ammunition at Chestnut Drive on December 14, 2016. Last week, Joseph Walsh was sentenced to five years and six months for possession of firearms and two years for possession of ammunition. Gilmartin was jailed for five years for possession of firearms and two years for possession of ammunition. Their sentences are to run concurrently and were backdated to December 14, 2016. The matter regarding Sean Walsh remains pending judgment.
2018-02-05 · Cork
The Special Criminal Court sentenced two Cork men to prison for firearms offences following a garda investigation into the "New IRA". Joseph Walsh (36) and Michael Gilmartin (47) both pleaded guilty to possession of firearms, including a 9mm parabellum pistol, a magazine, and a double-barrel sawn-off shotgun, as well as ammunition, at Chestnut Drive, Cobh, on September 14, 2016. The court heard that gardai intercepted the pair in December 2016 while monitoring subversive activity, finding the weapons in a bag at Gilmartin's home. Mr Justice Tony Hunt noted mitigating factors, including their early guilty pleas, describing Walsh as a recent recruit and Gilmartin's involvement as limited to logistical support. Walsh was sentenced to five years and six months for possession of firearms and two years for possession of ammunition. Gilmartin received five years for possession of firearms and two years for possession of ammunition. The sentences are to run concurrently and were backdated to December 14, 2016.
2018-01-11 · Cork
Joseph Walsh and Michael Gilmartin, who pleaded guilty to firearms offences linked to a garda investigation into the "New IRA," had their sentencing adjourned until February 5. The co-accused admitted to possessing a 9mm parabellum pistol, a magazine, a double-barrel sawn-off shotgun, and ammunition at Chestnut Drive, Cobh, on September 14 last year. They also admitted to an assault at Cork Circuit Court. At the sentence hearing, the court heard that Walsh initially took a "no comment attitude" but later stated he had a "fair idea" the bag contained something illegal. Walsh has previous convictions, including assault causing harm in 2013 and a suspended sentence in 2010. Gilmartin, who also initially remained silent, later told gardai he feared for his life. He has only previous Road Traffic Act convictions. Defence counsel for Walsh highlighted his guilty plea and a reference from a former employer. Counsel for Gilmartin argued he was of outstanding good character, suffered from health issues, and was not a "prime mover" in the offences. Justice Tony Hunt, sitting with Judges Patricia Ryan and Ann Ryan, stated they had a "fair bit to think about" and adjourned the matter. The case was not concluded or finalised at this stage.
2017-12-21 · Cork
Two men from Cork, Joseph Walsh, 36, and Michael Gilmartin, 46, admitted to possessing firearms and ammunition. They pleaded guilty to holding a 9mm parabellum pistol, a suitable magazine, and a double‑barrel sawn‑off shotgun, along with 14 rounds of 9mm ammunition and eight shotgun cartridges. The items were found at Chestnut Drive, Cluain Ard, Newtown, Cobh, on 14 September last year. Judge Tony Hunt, with Judges Patricia Ryan and James Faughnan, remanded them in custody until 11 January, when sentencing will occur.
2017-05-26 · Cork
Three men from Cork—Joseph Walsh (36), Michael Gilmartin (46), and Sean Walsh (50)—are set to stand trial at the Special Criminal Court for alleged membership in the Irish Republican Army. Walsh and Gilmartin face additional charges of possessing firearms, including a 9mm pistol, a sawn‑off shotgun, and ammunition, seized from Chestnut Drive, Cluain Ard, Newtown, Cobh, on 14 December 2016. All three were arrested in December 2016 and remanded in custody. The court scheduled their trial for 12 February 2018, expecting it to last four weeks.
2017-04-28 · Cork
Joseph Walsh, Michael Gilmartin, and Sean Walsh, all accused of membership in an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army (IRA), appeared at the Special Criminal Court. Walsh (36) of Glengarriff Road, Fair Hill, and Gilmartin (46) of Chestnut Drive, Cluain Ard, Newtown, Cobh, were freshly charged with possession of firearms and ammunition. The new allegations state that on December 14, 2016, they possessed a 9mm parabellum pistol, a suitable magazine, a double-barrel sawn-off shotgun, 14 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and eight shotgun cartridges at the Chestnut Drive address. These charges follow earlier allegations of IRA membership against all three men, including Sean Walsh (50) of St John's Well, Fair Hill, who was arrested in Cork in December 2016. No pleas were entered, and no findings or sentences were recorded at this procedural stage. The court remanded the men in custody until May 26, when their case is listed for mention again. The matter was adjourned and is not concluded.
2017-01-18 · Cork
Michael Gilmartin, 46, of Cobh, was denied bail by the Special Criminal Court after being charged with possession of a semi‑automatic 9mm Walter pistol, a sawn‑off shotgun and 22 rounds of ammunition, and with membership of the Irish Republican Army. The State argued that bail would risk a serious offence, and the court agreed, remanding him in custody until a further hearing on 25 January. The judge noted Gilmartin's claim of wanting to provide for his partner and child, but the court refused his application.
2016-12-21 · Cork
Sean Walsh, 50, of St John's Well, Fair Hill, and Joseph Walsh, 36, of Glengarriff Road, Fair Hill, Co Cork, were arrested last week in Cork with Michael Gilmartin, 46, of Chestnut Drive, Cluain Ard, Newtown in Cobh. All three men were charged on 14 December 2016 with membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh Na hÉireann, otherwise the IRA. Gilmartin was also charged with possession of a semi‑automatic 9 mm Walter pistol, a sawn‑off shotgun and 22 rounds of ammunition. At the Special Criminal Court in Dublin, the State objected to the men's bail applications, citing the seriousness of the charges. Detective Sergeant Patrick Murphy and Chief Superintendent Barry McPolin gave evidence that the refusal of bail was necessary to prevent the commission of a serious offence under Section 2A of the Bail Act.
2016-12-17 · Cork
Three men were charged at the Special Criminal Court on 14 December 2016 with membership of the Irish Republican Army, an unlawful organisation. Sean Walsh, aged 50, was arrested at 7.47pm in Cobh under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and brought to Cobh Garda Station. Joseph Walsh, aged 36, was arrested at 7.46pm in Cobh by Detective Garda Oisin Cotter and charged with the same offence. Michael Gilmartin, aged 46, was arrested at 7.41pm in Midleton by Detective Garda Geraldine Daly under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and for possession of firearms in suspicious circumstances. Gilmartin was also charged with possession of a semi‑automatic 9mm Walter pistol, a sawn‑off shotgun, and 22 rounds of ammunition under Section 27a of the Firearms Act. All three men were remanded in custody until the next Wednesday for bail hearings and legal aid applications.
2015-01-29 · Wicklow
The trial of 42‑year‑old architect Graham Dwyer, charged with the murder of 36‑year‑old childcare worker Elaine O'Hara, has heard evidence that items recovered from a Wicklow lake in October 2013 matched O'Hara's personal belongings. Glasses found in the lake were shown to have the same prescription and frames as those prescribed to O'Hara, and a set of keys recovered from the water matched keys to her car and home. The items, which included bondage cuffs, a leather mask, a ball gag, a blindfold, a knife, a rope, a chain, a Nokia mobile phone, a white vibrator, a black anal plug, a red battery‑operated device, a red kidney‑shaped object, a ski mask, a gold bracelet, a Tesco Mobile SIM card, a metal band, a pair of sunglasses, a pair of glasses, a pair of shorts and a Real Madrid dressing gown, were presented to the jury.