Robert O’Leary convicted of IRA membership in Belfast bomb case

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

Robert O’Leary was convicted of IRA membership by the Special Criminal Court, reported on 7 September 2020. The court found that a Skoda Octavia linked him to serious IRA activity involving a bomb placed beneath a PSNI officer’s vehicle in Belfast.

The three-judge court accepted belief evidence from Chief Superintendent Anthony Howard and rejected O’Leary’s account that he had sold the car to an unidentified purchaser. O’Leary was remanded on continuing bail until 5 October, when he was due to be sentenced.