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Court upholds conviction of "IRA bomb-maker" arrested at Dublin hotel

Summary

Samuel Devlin, 59, was convicted by the Special Criminal Court for possessing PETN at Finnstown House Hotel's 'Golf Suite' on 11 May 2014. The court found evidence of a 26‑metre detonator cord, hidden in a laptop case, with PETN in its core, and linked Devlin to the cord via fingerprints and DNA. The suite had been booked under "Joe Murphy" since 31 March, and Devlin had been present from 9 May. Gardai searched the suite at 10.25 am after a warrant was issued amid the discovery of a car bomb in the hotel's car park. Devlin's appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, which upheld the conviction and the admissibility of the evidence, including the DNA and the warrant's urgency. He remains sentenced to six years' imprisonment.".

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Court upholds conviction of "IRA bomb-maker" arrested at Dublin hotel. Procedural stage: appeal. Findings: Found guilty

When:

• May 11th, 2014 Incident
• April 6, 2016 Incident
• March 31 Other
• May 9 Other
• Saturday May 10 Other
• 2017-07-06 Publication

Why: His presence there was a concern to Detective Inspector William Hanrahan, a long-serving member of the Special Detective Unit, because he believed Devlin to be "linked to bomb-making", Mr Justice Birmingham said. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Appeal

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Read the original CNI report