A 21-year-old Dublin man who was arrested wearing an "Óglaigh na hÉireann" T-shirt was convicted of IRA membership at the Special Criminal Court yesterday.
During the trial of Vincent Kelly, Empress Place, Ballybough, Det Chief Supt Philip Kelly gave evidence of his belief that the accused was approximately 15 years old when he joined the organisation.
Vincent Kelly was arrested when gardaí found a handgun hidden inside a van in north Dublin in June last year.
He is due to be sentenced on June 28th.
Kelly had pleaded not guilty to membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Óglaigh na hÉireann, otherwise the IRA, on June 7th, 2005.
However, Mr Justice Richard Johnson, presiding at the three-judge Special Criminal Court, said the court had found him guilty as charged.
The judge said he accepted evidence from Det Chief Supt Kelly, who said he believed Vincent Kelly was a member of the IRA on June 7th and that he had held this belief for five or six years.
Det Chief Supt Kelly had said this belief was based on confidential information.
Mr Justice Johnson said that the court also found that Kelly had failed to answer material questions relating to the offence with which he was charged after proper warning and legal advice.
He also said the items found in the van, which was stopped by gardaí, included a pistol, a balaclava, two pairs of gloves and a canister of CS gas, and these also corroborated Det Chief Supt Kelly's belief.
A fingerprint belonging to Kelly had also been found in the back of the van, which suggested that although he was a front-seat passenger, he had had access to the back of the vehicle where the items were found.
Diarmaid McGuinness, defending, applied for bail for his client for a short period of time ahead of sentence. He said Kelly had fathered a child within the last month.
However, Tom O'Connell SC, prosecuting, said he had instructions to apply for Kelly to be remanded in custody.
He said Kelly had a previous conviction at the Special Criminal Court on November 6th, 2000, when he received a three-year suspended sentence for the offence of unlawful military drilling.
The judge remanded Kelly in custody until June 28th.