A former soldier in the British and Australian armies was given a five-year suspended sentence and fined £25,000 by the Special Criminal Court yesterday for his part in a plot to smuggle guns from Florida to Ireland.
Rory McDonnell (52), a native of Dublin with an address at Riverstown, Killucan, Co Westmeath, pleaded guilty to conspiring with unknown persons to unlawfully import firearms into the State between June 1st and July 26th last year.
The court was told that gardai launched an investigation with US authorities and British police after two guns were found in July last year at Coventry airport in a package posted from Florida.
Det Supt John McElligot said 16 more packages were intercepted at the airport, all addressed to people in Ireland. ????????????i intercepted five packages which were found to contain containing one 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, one Smith and Wesson revolver, one Ruger pistol, two Ruger revolvers, 317 rounds of ammunition, 32 magazines for assault rifles and three pistol magazines.
A package intercepted at Enfield post office in Co Meath had been posted to a fictitious computer company with an address at a rented shed in Co Meath. It contained 10 assault rifle magazines. The man who rented the shed was identified as the accused and he was arrested and made a statement to gardai.
McDonnell told gardai he was a former member of Sinn Fein and had been approached by another man who offered to sell him CDs and computer games from the US. The man told him he had a shed set up in Enfield and to use a false name to rent it.
McDonnell said he collected a parcel at Enfield post office addressed to the fictitious computer company and gave it to the man at a late-night meeting.
The man told him things other than CDs were involved and warned him to tell gardai nothing if he was questioned. The man also threatened that McDonnell's brother would "wind up with a 38 in the back of his head" and his elderly father's house would be fire-bombed if he opened his mouth.
McDonnell also told gardai he knew the man was a member of the IRA and added: "I did it because you can't say no to these people."
Det Supt McElligot said that McDonnell had joined the Royal Marines in England in 1966 and had then emigrated to Australia, where he served in the Australian army for 24 years. He had returned to Ireland in 1994.
He said he believed McDonnell was not seriously involved in subversion and had been used by other people.
McDonnell's counsel, Mr Barry White SC, said his client suffered a massive heart attack three years ago and required a heart transplant and was anxious to return to Australia for health reasons.
Mr Justice Diarmuid O'Donovan, presiding, said that the court had taken into account that McDonnell was not in very good health. He suspended the five-year sentence on condition that he keep the peace for five years.