Trevor Byrne pleads guilty to loaded handgun offence

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

Trevor Byrne pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to possessing a loaded handgun at a house in Woodford Grove, Clondalkin, Dublin, on 15 November 2019. The State accepted his plea. The proceedings were reported on 9 December 2020.

Two ammunition charges and a charge of possessing cash that Byrne was reckless towards, or knew to be, the proceeds of crime were to be taken into account at sentencing. Sentencing was listed for 21 December 2020, when defence counsel Conor Devally SC was to outline mitigating factors.

Gardaí found the handgun beneath a couch where Byrne had been sitting. It contained five rounds and one in the barrel, while €3,050 was found in his pockets. Byrne’s DNA was matched to DNA found on the gun, a balaclava and gloves, the report said.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt presided with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Michael Walsh. At the sentencing hearing on 9 December, Detective Superintendent Derek Maguire said Byrne had 40 previous convictions.