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No evidence 'Arthur Daly' car dealer had knowledge of dissident bomb operation, court hears

Summary

In a Special Criminal Court sentence hearing, Robert O'Leary, 42, of Finglas, was found guilty of membership of an unlawful organisation styled as the Irish Republican Army. The court considered evidence that a Skoda Octavia, supplied by O'Leary's used‑car dealership, had been used to plant an improvised explosive device under a PSNI officer's jeep in Belfast. O'Leary denied any knowledge of the bomb operation and claimed he had merely sold the car. Defence counsel argued there was no evidence of his involvement, citing his family life and lack of prior convictions. The judge accepted belief evidence and CCTV linking O'Leary to the vehicle, concluding that the car had been in IRA hands by the night of 31 May 2019. O'Leary was remanded in custody until sentencing on 16 October. The conviction was for a single count of IRA membership.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: No evidence 'Arthur Daly' car dealer had knowledge of dissident bomb operation, court hears. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• August 20, 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
• October 16 Adjournment
• June 1, 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
• June 1 Other
• August 2019 Incident
• May 31, 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2020-10-05 Publication

Why: During the trial, Mr Greene read from the statement of the PSNI officer, known as Officer One, who said that he would usually check underneath his Cherokee jeep but that because of builders at a neighbouring property he could not do it discreetly in the two mornings before the discovery. CNI source report

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Stage Sentence

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Read the original CNI report