Man accused of directing the IRA recorded discussing explosives operation prior to Royal visit, court hears

A man from County Louth has pleaded not guilty to directing the activities of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army between April and May 2015. The Special Criminal Court in Dublin heard at the opening of the trial that gardaí recorded the accused discussing an explosives operation in the period preceding a State visit. Prosecutors told the court the accused directed that the operation…