Courts / Armagh / Report
Plumber who led gun-running ring offered to 'throw in' free pipe-bombs in €75k deal
Summary
Mark McCourt, 34, pleaded guilty to firearms offences and participation in a criminal organisation that imported and re‑assembled restricted weapons from the USA. In a Special Criminal Court hearing, a senior Garda testified that McCourt controlled a ring that smuggled gun parts by air, assembling them into assault rifles and pistols. Evidence included seized phone data revealing text messages to prospective buyers, offering a €75,000 cash deal for firearms and a free gift of 10 pipe bombs. McCourt had previously flown to Las Vegas in 2023, where he purchased an AR‑15 rifle and discussed further weapon sales. A raid on a shed in Ardee on 19 July 2024 uncovered 82 gun parts and nearly 900 rounds of ammunition. McCourt has 42 prior convictions and was jailed for three years, 18 months suspended, for a criminal damage incident involving a Garda's vehicle. The court will decide his sentence at a later hearing.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Plumber who led gun-running ring offered to 'throw in' free pipe-bombs in €75k deal. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- 24 May 2024 Incident
- May 2023 Hearing Or Sentence
- 10 February 2023 Incident
- July 2024 Hearing Or Sentence
- 19 July Incident
- 2025-07-28 Publication
Why: "If they get damp, they won't fire, that's why you see bots there and they're misfiring, because the powder is damp," McCourt wrote. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Outcome: He said McCourt and was jailed for three years, with 18 months suspended, on foot of a conviction for a criminal damage incident in which he had gone to the home address of an off-duty garda at 2.55am and "rammed" her car.
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