Eight men were charged at the Special Criminal Court today with being members of a republican terrorist group.
The men are accused of belonging to an unlawful organisation styled on the IRA. All were remanded in custody until a bail hearing tomorrow.
Garda officers were called before the court to give evidence on how they arrested the men in a raid on a house in the Ballynanty area of north Limerick on Monday night on suspicion of holding a meeting of Continuity IRA members.
The court heard how the men spent two nights in police custody before being released and then immediately re-arrested yesterday.
Each of the men were handed a formal charge before the proceedings began before a panel of three judges headed by Mr Justice Diarmuid O'Donavan.
The charges were formally put to them at the court at registrar. He said that they were charged with one count - that on the December 17th, 2001, they were members of an unlawful organisation styling itself around the Irish Republican Army contrary to the Offences Against The State Act and Criminal Law Act.
Ms Kathleen Leader, chief prosecutor for the State, told the court that each man was charged with a scheduled offence and applied for them to be remanded in custody until tomorrow's bail hearing.
The names of those charged were Mr Joseph Lynch (61), from Limerick City; Mr Patrick O'Shea (53) from Limerick City; Mr Desmond Long (61), from Shannon Banks, Limerick; Mr Robert McNamara (55) from St Michael's Avenue, Tipperary; Mr Matt Conway (66) from Nicholas Street, Kilullan, Co Kildare; Mr Christopher Dunne (27), from Rosbrien, Limerick; Mr Gerard Brommel (42), from Woodview Park, Limerick; and Mr Patrick Kineally (58), from Co Clare.
The court heard that only two of the men replied when charged by detectives. Mr Lynch said: "I am not a member". Mr Dunne replied: "That's grand".
The accused men will reappear before the same court tomorrow afternoon. All applied for legal aid.