Michael Kiely acquitted of IRA membership charge

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

Michael Kiely was acquitted of membership of an illegal organisation by the three-judge Special Criminal Court. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge. The proceedings were reported on 22 December 2013.

The court heard that Michael Kiely read a statement describing Irish people who joined the British Army as legitimate targets. He said he had not read it beforehand, received it from an unknown person, disagreed with its threats and had been used by others. Chief Superintendent Dave Sheahan told the court he believed Mr Kiely was a CIRA member. Presiding judge Mr Justice Paul Butler said the court was satisfied that Michael Kiely had read an inflammatory statement, but had doubts about whether he was an IRA member on the relevant date.