Ray Kennedy on trial over IRA membership and alleged act to pervert justice

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

Ray Kennedy and Laurence Murphy went on trial at the non-jury Special Criminal Court, charged with membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh Na hÉireann, otherwise the IRA, on 6 March 2013. Both pleaded not guilty to the membership charge.

Kennedy was also charged with carrying out an act intending to pervert the course of justice by destroying a mobile telephone SIM card in his possession on 6 March 2013. The proceedings were reported on 8 October 2019.

Peter Butterly was shot dead outside The Huntsman Inn in Gormanston, Co Meath, on 6 March 2013. Opening the prosecution case, Paul O’Higgins SC said Kennedy drove into the inn shortly after the shooting and spoke to gardaí. He said the prosecution alleged Kennedy destroyed a SIM card that might have contained evidence after learning that Butterly had died.

O’Higgins said the court would hear that a meeting between Kennedy and Butterly had been arranged for 2pm, but that Kennedy maintained he was not meeting Butterly until 2.30pm. O’Higgins also described regular contact between phones belonging to Kennedy and Butterly’s wife, Eithne Butterly, explaining that Butterly appeared to use his wife’s phone because he did not use one himself.

The trial was due to resume before Ms Justice Tara Burns, presiding with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Michael Walsh.