Gary McAreavey convicted of impeding prosecution

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Gary McAreavey was convicted of acting to impede an apprehension or prosecution at the Special Criminal Court on 5 January 2021. He was found to have bought petrol and helped burn out the Lexus at Newrath, Dromiskin, Co Louth, after the attempted murder of James Gately.

The court found that McAreavey was in contact with Caolan Smyth after the shooting, met him with fuel and went with him to the rural site where the car was destroyed. It also found that he lied to gardaí about knowing Smyth.

McAreavey and Smyth were due to be sentenced on 25 January 2021.