IRA accused met with Old Bailey bomber Marian Price, trial hears

Two men charged with membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army in connection with the March 2013 killing of dissident republican Peter Butterly faced further prosecution evidence at the Special Criminal Court. Laurence Murphy, aged 62, from Bettystown in County Meath, and Ray Kennedy, aged 40, from Blanchardstown in Dublin, have both pleaded not guilty to the membership charge. Kennedy additionally faces a charge of perverting the course of justice. During proceedings in November 2019, gardaí gave evidence that Murphy was observed at Bewleys Hotel at Dublin Airport on 22 May 2010 alongside Marian Price, a veteran republican and convicted participant in Old Bailey bombing operations, alongside others including Real IRA leader Alan Ryan. The prosecution argued this meeting was significant to establishing the accused men's associations and activities within dissident republican circles during the period under investigation. Further garda testimony outlined surveillance of both men meeting individuals subsequently convicted of involvement in Butterly's death. Detectives observed Murphy and Kennedy in contact with convicted murderers Kevin Braney and Frank Murphy in the days surrounding the killing. The evidence also encompassed communications between Kennedy's phone and a device belonging to the deceased's wife, used to arrange the fatal meeting. Peter Butterly, aged 35, was shot dead in a car park at the Huntsman Inn, Gormanston, on 6 March 2013. Four men have already received life sentences for the murder, with two others convicted of participation in the killing. The prosecution characterised the shooting as meticulously planned. A Detective Chief Superintendent from the Special Detective Unit provided evidence of his belief that both accused were IRA members, though declined to disclose the underlying material on security grounds.