Jonathan Harding pleads guilty to firearms possession

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

Jonathan Harding and James Walsh pleaded guilty to possession of firearms in suspicious circumstances at the Special Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 12 January 2018. Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding at the three-judge court, adjourned sentencing to 30 January 2018.

The court was told on 11 January 2018 that 15 firearms had been seized at a unit in Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, south Dublin, on 24 January 2017. They included nine revolvers, four semi-automatic pistols, an Ingram sub-machine gun and an AK47 assault rifle. The cache also included 10 magazines, 1,355 rounds of ammunition and two silencers.

Prosecuting counsel Sean Gillane SC described the firearms offences as being at the higher end of the scale. Det Insp Noel Browne said neither Harding nor Walsh was a “prime mover”, but that both were “willing” participants. Counsel for both men said their clients had entered early pleas.