Arrest of man on trial for IRA membership legal, court rules

The Special Criminal Court has ruled that the arrest of a Monaghan man charged with IRA membership was lawful. Jim Smyth, aged 44, of Aghalissabeagh, Scotstown, County Monaghan, has pleaded not guilty to membership of an unlawful organization styling itself the Irish Republican Army. The prosecution alleges that Mr Smyth used his own land and land belonging to his mother-in-law for IRA activities on 25 November 2015. His legal representatives had challenged the lawfulness of his arrest, arguing he had been arrested for the same offence on 29 January that year. Presiding Justice Isobel Kennedy found no connection between the investigation into the alleged activities on the date in question and the earlier arrest on suspicion of IRA membership. The trial continues before Ms Justice Kennedy, sitting with Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin and Judge James Faughnan.