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"IRA bomb maker" refused compassionate bail

Summary

Samuel Devlin, 55, was convicted by a three‑judge Special Criminal Court of unlawful possession of PETN at his Golf Suite, Finnstown House Hotel, Lucan, Co Dublin, on 11 May 2014. During the trial the court heard that he was a bomb maker for the IRA. He applied for compassionate bail to travel to Northern Ireland to visit a terminally‑ill family member from 18 to 23 March. The SDU's Detective Inspector William Hanrahan informed counsel that the Gardaí objected to the bail because of Devlin's conviction, raising flight risk. Judge Paul Butler, with Judges Alison Lindsay and William Hamill, agreed with the detective and refused the bail, stating it would be "too risky" to grant bail to someone pending sentence for a serious offence. Devlin will be sentenced on 6 April.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: "IRA bomb maker" refused compassionate bail. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Found guilty

When:

• March 1st Incident
• May 11th, 2014 Incident
• March 18th Hearing Or Sentence
• March 23rd Hearing Or Sentence
• April 6th Incident
• 2016-03-16 Publication

Why: Detective Inspector William Hanrahan, of the SDU, told prosecuting counsel Ronan Kennedy BL that gardai were objecting to Devlin's bail application because of his conviction, which meant the flight risk had increased. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence

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Read the original CNI report