Sean Walsh jailed for IRA membership in Cork

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

Sean Walsh was jailed for three and a half years for IRA membership at the Special Criminal Court on 16 March 2018. The sentence was backdated to 14 December 2016, when he was first arrested.

Walsh had denied membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the IRA, but three judges convicted him after a brief trial in February. Mr Justice Tony Hunt said Walsh was actively associated with the movement of firearms and described his membership as active and trusted. The court also heard that he had previous convictions, including one for assault in Cork District Court in September 2005.