Courts / Dublin / Report

Non-jury court considers verdict in "IRA inquiry" trial

Summary

Three judges of the Special Criminal Court have retired to consider their verdicts in a trial involving five defendants accused of IRA membership and related offences. The State's case relies on recordings from bugs in a Dublin house where an alleged IRA inquiry was held, and on belief evidence from Detective Chief Superintendent Anthony Howard, who claimed privilege over the material. Defence counsel argued that the belief evidence was untested, that the State had not called expert voice‑recognition evidence, and that the privilege claim weakened the prosecution's case. Each defendant—David Nooney, Seán Hannaway, Edward O'Brien, Kevin Hannaway, and Eva Shannon—pleaded not guilty to membership or assistance charges. The judges will announce their decision on 29 June, with the trial stage remaining a verdict‑making hearing rather than a sentencing or appeal proceeding.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Non-jury court considers verdict in "IRA inquiry" trial. Procedural stage: trial

When:

• August 8th, 2015 Other
• August 7th Incident
• June 29th Other
• 2018-06-20 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Trial

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Read the original CNI report