Courts / Monaghan / Report
Mechanic gets four years for IRA membership
Summary
A 56-year-old mechanic from Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan, has been sentenced to four years imprisonment by the Special Criminal Court following his conviction for membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army. James Joseph Cassidy of Tullycollive was found guilty in March of the charge relating to September 21, 2016. He had denied the allegation. During the trial, gardaí gave evidence of discovering a booster tube in a shed on Cassidy's premises during a search. Detective Inspector William Hanrahan testified that the device was consistent with similar tubing found in relation to other IRA operations. Presiding judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt stated that Cassidy's membership had been persistent and active, and noted that no actual harm occurred due to timely intervention by gardaí. The defendant had no previous convictions. The sentence was backdated to February 14, 2019, when Cassidy entered custody.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Mechanic gets four years for IRA membership. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- September 21, 2016 Other
- February 14 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2019-05-27 Publication
Why: Passing sentence today, Mr Justice Hunt said that because Cassidy was not a member of the organisation at the highest level, the top range of penalties did not apply to him. CNI source report
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Outcome: Passing sentence today, Mr Justice Hunt said that because Cassidy was not a member of the organisation at the highest level, the top range of penalties did not apply to him. Following this, Cassidy was sentenced to four years imprisonment, backdated to February 14 of this year when he went into custody.
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