Courts / Louth / Report

Real IRA leader loses latest Supreme Court bid

Summary

Michael McKevitt, a former Real IRA leader, lost his latest attempt to have his appeal over a 2003 conviction for directing terrorism heard by the Supreme Court. He argued that a 2012 Supreme Court ruling had found a Garda search warrant used in a separate case invalid because it was issued by a Garda superintendent involved in the case, and claimed a warrant used to search his home was similarly invalid. The State rejected his claims, arguing the 2012 decision could not be applied retrospectively and that McKevitt had not challenged the use of evidence gathered under the warrant during his trial. The Court of Criminal Appeal, comprising Justices John MacMenamin, Brian McGovern and John Edwards, found McKevitt's application "entirely misconceived" and refused to refer it to the Supreme Court. McKevitt, 63, from Blackrock, Co. Louth, denied the charges on which he was jailed and had previously lost appeals in 2005 and 2008.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Real IRA leader loses latest Supreme Court bid. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• 1999 and 2001 Incident
• 2014-05-20 Publication

Why: This was because it had not been issued by an independent person but by a garda superintendent involved in the case. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal

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Read the original CNI report