Man claimed he was on "drinking" session and didn't know about half-tonne of fertiliser in back of van

A Cork man has been granted a date to appeal his conviction for membership of an unlawful organisation. Martin McHale, aged 54, was found guilty by the Special Criminal Court in 2017 following an incident in Monaghan in November 2013. He had claimed to gardaí that he travelled to the county for a social occasion and was unaware of fertiliser in the van he was driving. The court rejected his account, finding he had…