A Monaghan mechanic found guilty of IRA membership has been jailed by the non-jury Special Criminal Court for four years.
James Joseph Cassidy (56) of Tullycollive, Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan, was found guilty in March of membership of an unlawful organisation, styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Óglaigh na hÉireann, otherwise the IRA, on September 21st, 2016. The defendant had denied the charge.
Presiding judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt said today that the defendant’s membership of the unlawful organisation had been “persistent and active” on the date in question and he had played a part in storing a “booster tube”.
In his opening address to the three-judge court at the end of January, prosecuting counsel Paul Greene SC said gardaí discovered a “water booster tube” during a search in and around Cassidy’s family home and sheds which he owned or had access to.
Mr Greene said there would be evidence of this device’s similarity to one seized during another prosecution in Kilcurry, an area “not very far away from where we are talking about”.
He told the court that the Tullycollive area is “an unusually remote” part of Monaghan overlooking the border into Armagh and accessed by a minor road.
Mr Greene said that gardaí also found three mobile phones and “items of Republican paraphernalia” that would be exhibited in the trial.
He said there would also be evidence of Cassidy’s association with a number of convicted IRA members and people from a group called the Republican Network Unity (RNU).
Chief Superintendent Christopher Mangan gave evidence during the trial of his belief that Cassidy was an IRA member on the date in question. He claimed privilege on the sources of the confidential information on which his belief was based.
Detective Sergeant Oliver Flaherty, of the Special Detective Unit (SDU), said he was involved in a search of Cassidy’s premises and adjoining lands on September 21st, 2016. Det Sgt Flaherty said he found a black metal pipe, about 40cm in length, with drilled holes in a shed. It was found on the floor in a small space between the rear of a vat or box and the wall. It would not have been visible to anybody walking into the shed, he said.
Detective Inspector William Hanrahan, of the SDU, gave evidence that he had previously seen similar tubing in relation to “other IRA operations”. It was a booster tube, the detective inspector said.
Passing sentence on Monday, Mr Justice Hunt said that because Cassidy was not a member of the organisation at the highest level, the top range of penalties did not apply to him.
Having regard to the gravity of the offence, the judge said the maximum sentence was eight years in prison but the headline sentence in this case was four years and six months in prison.
The fact no actual harm occurred was due to the timely intervention of gardaí, remarked the judge.
The court heard the main mitigating factor was that Cassidy had no previous convictions.
Following this, Cassidy was sentenced to four years imprisonment, backdated to February 14th of this year when he went into custody.
Delivering judgment in March, Mr Justice Hunt, sitting with Judge Patricia Ryan and Judge Ann Ryan, said the court was satisfied that the likelihood of some person other than Cassidy placing the booster tube in the shed was “so remote and fanciful” that it could safely be dismissed.
“There is no evidence that anyone else had such access,” he stated, adding that the presence of the booster tube in the shed was not an unfortunate coincidence.
Mr Justice Hunt said strands of evidence in relation to the booster pipe, a USB key and mobile phones were part of a “pattern of behaviour” that supported the belief evidence that Cassidy was a member of the IRA on the day in question.
At last month’s sentence hearing, Detective Sergeant Kieran Reidy agreed with Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, that the booster tube was not a “primed device”. Mr Justice Hunt said it was accepted that further processing and manufacturing of the booster tube would have been required.