Michael Finlay and Dean Byrne jailed for firearm and ammunition possession

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

Michael Finlay and Dean Byrne were each sentenced to five years in prison at the Special Criminal Court for firearm and ammunition possession. The proceedings were reported on 1 July 2016.

They were found guilty in June 2016 of unlawfully possessing a 9mm calibre semi-automatic pistol and magazine at Glenshane Crescent, Tallaght, on 5 June 2014. Both were also convicted of possessing various rounds of 9mm calibre semi-automatic ammunition at the same address on the same date. Each had pleaded not guilty.

Detective Inspector Anthony Lenehan summarised the facts on 1 July 2016. The report said Detective Sergeant Joseph Finnegan found the men in a stolen Renault Kangoo van wearing fake beards, hats and glasses. Finlay also wore an An Post jacket. Finlay appeared to have a firearm in his hand and dropped it when ordered. A pistol with a fully loaded magazine was found on the van floor, with loose ammunition in a black hold-all bag.

During interviews at Tallaght garda station, detectives invoked provisions allowing courts to draw inferences from failures to account for certain matters. Both men made no reply when asked about the firearm, ammunition, stolen van, fake beard and An Post jacket.

Sentencing them, Mr Justice Paul Butler, presiding with Judge Alison Lindsay and Judge Flann Brennan, said they had made clear from the outset that they would not oppose the evidence. Although this was not a guilty plea, he allowed credit because it shortened the trial.

The judge described both men as having a “blameless past” and placed the offences at the lower end of the scale. However, he said their being “completely unexplained” was a “worrying aspect”.

Finlay’s sentence was backdated to 5 June 2014 and Byrne’s to 8 May 2016.