Courts / Dublin / Report
Not guilty plea entered on IRA accused's behalf after silence during arraignment
Summary
In a Special Criminal Court hearing on 31 October 2018, Conor Metcalfe, aged 28, was arraigned on a charge of membership in the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He remained seated, did not stand, and gave no answer when the registrar asked him to plead. The presiding judge, Mr Justice Tony Hunt, accepted the silence as a not guilty plea. Metcalfe was wearing a white jumper and had a book with him, which he read during the court's discussion of a trial issue. The prosecution, represented by Annemarie Lawlor SC, opened its case by stating that Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Howard would testify that Metcalfe was an IRA member on the relevant date. The State's case also included two Section 2 interviews of Metcalfe under the Offences Against the State Act, allowing the court to draw inferences from his failure to answer questions about alleged IRA membership.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Not guilty plea entered on IRA accused's behalf after silence during arraignment. Charges or matters: membership of an unlawful organisation, styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the IRA, on November 24, 2015. Procedural stage: trial
When:
- November 24, 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
- June 2014 Incident
- 2018-10-31 Publication
Case subjects
Accused
Charges: membership of an unlawful organisation, styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the IRA, on November 24, 2015 (Alleged Or Contested)
Places mentioned
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