Courts / Ireland / Report

Retrial of men acquitted of IRA membership refused

Summary

The Court of Appeal refused to allow the Director of Public Prosecutions to retry two men who had been found not guilty of IRA membership. The appeal court said the Special Criminal Court judges had wrongly excluded belief evidence from a senior Garda who had told the trial that he believed the men were IRA members. Justice George Birmingham noted that even if the evidence had been admitted, it would have carried little weight and the men would still have been acquitted. He criticised the trial judges for rejecting the evidence on the basis of unfairness and for not allowing the defence to cross‑examine the Garda. The appeal court concluded that it was not in the interests of justice to require a retrial on the same charges. The decision was made on 21 December 2021.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Retrial of men acquitted of IRA membership refused. Charges or matters: membership of an unlawful organisation, styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh Na hÉireann, otherwise the IRA, on a date in 2013. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• 2021-12-21 Publication

Why: Mr Justice Birmingham went on to say that the garda's testimony had not withstood a "robust cross-examination" because it was not possible to challenge it, given the "broad claim for privilege" which the garda had claimed when defence barristers tried to question him. Defence account reported by CNI

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Stage Appeal

Read the original CNI report