IRA accused told gardai he was supposed to be meet shooting victim

At the Special Criminal Court, Ray Kennedy and Laurence Murphy have pleaded not guilty to charges of membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, in relation to the fatal shooting of dissident republican Peter Butterly on 6 March 2013 outside The Huntsman Inn in Gormanston, County Meath. Kennedy, of Blanchardstown, Dublin, faces an additional charge of perverting the course of justice through destruction of a mobile telephone SIM card on the date of the killing. Murphy is from Bettystown, County Meath. The prosecution has characterised the shooting as a meticulously planned killing. Detective Garda evidence established that Kennedy arrived at the scene shortly after the incident and told gardaí he had been scheduled to meet Butterly there. The defence has indicated that such an arrangement had been pre-planned. Phone records presented to the three-judge panel showed that a text message was transmitted from a device associated with Kennedy to the phone of Butterly's wife at 1.43pm on 6 March, approximately seventeen minutes before the fatal shooting occurred. During interview, Kennedy stated that he and Butterly had arranged to meet at the venue at 2.30pm that day. Murphy denied IRA membership when questioned. Detective Chief Superintendent Anthony Howard, head of the Special Detective Unit, gave evidence of his belief that both men were members of the organisation, though he declined to disclose the basis for this assessment on security grounds. Detective gardaí also gave evidence that Kennedy had been observed in the company of slain Real IRA leader Alan Ryan on separate occasions in 2011 and 2012. Four men have previously received life sentences for Butterly's murder, with two others convicted of involvement. The trial continues before three judges at the non-jury court.