The man accused of murdering Veronica Guerin renewed his passport a fortnight before the journalist was shot dead, the Special Criminal Court was told yesterday.
The court also heard that protected State witness Charles Bowden, who is expected to give evidence in the trial, identified the wrong gun when he claimed he primed and cleaned an automatic gun used in an attack on another man, Mr Martin Foley. Bowden claimed he was supplying hash to Mr Foley at the time of the attack.
The defence also claimed Bowden would say he loaded the gun used in the murder of Ms Guerin with concave bullets, when a ballistics officer agreed the bullets were not concave.
Earlier, the three-judge court decided that lawyers for Mr Gilligan could see a Garda report into criticisms of the Garda made by a High Court judge during the trial of Paul Ward, a Dublin man already convicted of the murder of Ms Guerin. Mr Justice O'Donovan, presiding, ruled that "lest the defence feel ill done-by", it should see the report.
It was the seventh day of the trial of Mr Gilligan (48), who has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Sunday Independent crime reporter Ms Veronica Guerin (37) at Naas Road, Clondalkin, Dublin, on June 26th, 1996. He also denies 15 other counts alleging the importation of cannabis and firearms and ammunition offences.
A passport officer, Mr Brian Mulligan, told the court that, using his Corduff Avenue, Blanchardstown, address, Mr Gilligan applied for and was issued a 10-year passport on June 10th, 1986, and that on June 11th, 1996, he applied for a renewal passport, which was issued the following day, a fortnight before Ms Guerin was shot dead.
Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, for Mr Gilligan, asked ballistics officer Det Sgt Patrick Ennis to confirm that the gun used in the attack on Mr Foley was an Ingram sub-machine gun, not the Agram 2000 machine pistol Charles Bowden claimed he had prepared and cleaned for the attack.
Det Sgt Ennis agreed that an Ingram was the gun used.
The defence counsel said he understood that Bowden would say he loaded a Magnum gun with concave bullets for the shooting of Ms Guerin.
Det Sgt Ennis agreed that the bullets found in Ms Guerin's body and in her car "were not concave as far as I would describe them".
After yesterday's evidence, the court adjourned until January 11th.