Three men remanded over IRA membership charges

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

Conor Hughes, 38, Darren Fox, 26, and Jamie Smithers, 36, appeared before the non-jury Special Criminal Court on 2 November 2015. Mr Justice Paul Butler remanded all three in custody.

Each man was charged with membership of an unlawful organisation within the State styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Óglaigh na hÉireann, otherwise the IRA. They were arrested in the early hours of 31 October 2015 during an investigation into dissident republican activity in County Limerick.

Conor Hughes and Darren Fox were also charged with unlawful possession of a Winchester 12-gauge sawn-off double-barrel shotgun and two 12-gauge shotgun cartridges at Kyletaun, Rathkeale, County Limerick.

There was no application for bail on behalf of any of the three accused. They were remanded to appear before the court again on Friday.