Courts / Dublin / Report

Grandson of former Lord Mayor jailed for having explosives in Dublin city

Date
2019-05-27

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin City

County
Dublin

Summary

Two men, including the grandson of former Dublin Lord Mayor Christy Burke, were sentenced by the Special Criminal Court to a combined 14 years in prison after being caught with four kilograms of TNT and a hand grenade in a densely populated area of Dublin. Declan McDermott (30) and Mairtin Manning (24) each received seven years' imprisonment for possession of explosives and membership of an unlawful organisation. A third man, John O'Brien (56), was sentenced to one year and six months for assisting an unlawful organisation by storing a significant amount of explosive material. The court noted that the men had pleaded guilty, had no prior convictions, and that the intervention of Gardaí prevented any harm. The sentences were back‑dated to the dates the defendants entered custody. The judge highlighted the seriousness of the offence and the mitigating factors such as the defendants' employment and family circumstances.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Grandson of former Lord Mayor jailed for having explosives in Dublin city. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

June 2, 2017 Incident
June 2 2017 Incident
April 23 Hearing Or Sentence
June 2 Hearing Or Sentence
2019-05-27 Publication

Why: The witness also agreed with Michael O'Higgins SC, for Manning, that his client was the "most visible part" of the operation and was allocated this role because he was not someone well known to gardai at the time. CNI source report

Case subjects

Declan McDermott

Convicted Person

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Declan McDermott (30) was today jailed for seven years while his co-accused Mairtin Manning (24), the grandson of Mr Burke, was also sentenced to seven years in prison. Sentencing McDermott and Manning, the judge said the court would reduce the headline sentence of nine years and six months and impose a sentence of seven years imprisonment on each defendant, backdated to April this year when they went into custody.

John O'Brien

Convicted Person

Outcome: O'Brien was today jailed for one year and six months. Following this, the court imposed a sentence of one year and six months on O'Brien and backdated it to April 23 this year.

Lord Mayor

Convicted Person

Outcome: Credit: Collins) Two men, including the grandson of former Lord Mayor of Dublin Christy Burke, have received sentences totalling 14 years at the Special Criminal Court after they were caught with four kilograms of the explosive TNT and a hand grenade in a densely populated area of Dublin city. The former Lord Mayor of Dublin Christy Burke was in court today seated with the men's families and supporters for the sentence hearing.

Mairtin Manning

Convicted Person

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Mairtin Manning (24), the grandson of Mr Burke, was also sentenced to seven years in prison. Sentencing McDermott and Manning, the judge said the court would reduce the headline sentence of nine years and six months and impose a sentence of seven years imprisonment on each defendant, backdated to April this year when they went into custody.