Courts / Dublin / Report

Handwriting analysis of "IRA communiqué" inconclusive, trial hears

Summary

In a Special Criminal Court hearing, Brian Kenna, 54, pleaded not guilty to membership of the Irish Republican Army. The court considered handwriting evidence from an alleged IRA communiqué smuggled from Portlaoise prison. Detective Garda John Sweetman examined the communiqué, written on three cigarette papers, and compared it with Christmas cards Kenna carried. He concluded the comparison was inconclusive and could not reliably determine common authorship. The trial is set to resume on Friday morning before Mr Justice Tony Hunt, Judge John O'Hagan, and Judge Flann Brennan.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Handwriting analysis of "IRA communiqué" inconclusive, trial hears. Charges or matters: membership of an unlawful organisation within the State, namely Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the Irish Republican Army, otherwise the IRA on November 21st, 2015. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial

When:

• November 21st, 2015 Other
• Christmas Other
• 2017-05-03 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Charge Or Pretrial

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Read the original CNI report