Courts / Meath / Report

Special Criminal Court trial date set for former Sinn Fein councillor

Date
2016-10-24

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Navan

County
Meath

Summary

The Special Criminal Court has fixed a trial date for Jonathan Dowdall, 39, and his father Patrick Dowdall, 59, both of Navan Road, Dublin 7. The former Sinn Fein councillor and his father are charged with possessing a firearm or imitation firearm, described as a sawn-off shotgun and a handgun, with the intent to falsely imprison Alexander Hurley at the same address on January 15, 2015. The court set the trial for May 15 next year, with proceedings expected to last two weeks. This procedural step follows the validation of the sentence stage, though the specific finalisation for the accused remains an adjournment to the fixed trial date. The report attributes these allegations to the defendants, who have not yet been found guilty. No plea, finding, or immediate sentence was recorded in this specific procedural update, which solely establishes the timeline for the upcoming trial. The matter is therefore adjourned to the specified date for full trial proceedings, rather than being concluded or finalised at this stage.