Courts / Monaghan / Report

Monaghan man appears at out-of-hours sitting of non-jury court charged with IRA membership

Summary

Jim Smyth, a 43-year-old man from County Monaghan, appeared at an out-of-hours sitting of the Special Criminal Court in Dublin to face charges related to alleged dissident republican activity. He was arrested by the Special Detective Unit on Main Street, Carrickmacross, outside the local garda station, as part of ongoing investigations. The court heard that Mr Smyth was charged with membership of an unlawful organization, styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the IRA, on November 25th, 2015. Detective Garda Colm Finnerty testified that he arrested Mr Smyth under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, explaining the reason for the arrest and cautioning him, to which Mr Smyth made no reply. The accused was subsequently detained in Carrickmacross Garda Station before being transported to the Special Criminal Court, where he was shown the charge sheet without responding. Defense counsel Breffni Gordon BL noted that Mr Smyth had been in custody since the previous Wednesday night. Presiding judge Mr Justice Paul Butler, sitting with Judge John O'Hagan and Judge William Hamill, remanded Mr Smyth in custody until Wednesday morning, when a bail application is expected to be heard. The matter remains at the pretrial stage, with no plea entered or finding made.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Monaghan man appears at out-of-hours sitting of non-jury court charged with IRA membership. Charges or matters: membership of an unlawful organization, styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the IRA, on November 25th, 2015. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial

When:

• November 25th, 2015 Incident
• 2015-11-29 Publication

Why: He said he explained to Mr Smyth the reason for his arrest in ordinary language and cautioned him. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Charge Or Pretrial

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Read the original CNI report