Monaghan man jailed for IRA membership

A 44-year-old man from County Monaghan has been sentenced to three years' imprisonment by the Special Criminal Court following his conviction for membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army. Jim Smyth, with an address at Aghalissabeagh, Scotstown, was convicted last month of the offence alleged to have occurred on 25 November 2015. During trial, the three-judge court heard evidence that Smyth had been using his own land and property belonging to his mother-in-law at Knockatallon for dissident republican activity. Gardaí from the Special Detective Unit and Crime and Security conducted a search of lands surrounding derelict houses in the area. Interviews with Smyth were conducted under Section 2 of the Offences Against the State Act, which permits inference to be drawn from a suspect's refusal to answer questions regarding alleged IRA membership. While Smyth denied membership in response to certain questions, he declined to answer regarding specific items recovered following his arrest. Justice Isobel Kennedy imposed the custodial sentence.