A man has been jailed for seven years for possessing a sub-machine gun described by Judge Kieran O'Connor at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court as "a deadly and frightening weapon".
Patrick Corbally (44), unemployed, of Drumfinn Avenue, Ballyfermot, Dublin, was convicted in March by a jury which took just 30 minutes after a nine-day trial to find him guilty of having a copy "Ingram" submachine gun and ammunition with intent to endanger life on May 11th, 1997.
They were used in the shooting of Mr Seamus Behan, Edenmore Park, Coolock, near Corbally's house at about 8.30 a.m. that morning. Judge O'Connor, who rejected an application by Mr Barry White SC, defending, that he should declare "a mistrial" and not sentence Corbally, said he took the words "with intent to endanger life" as tantamount to saying "with the intention to kill".
He said Corbally appeared to be in control of two other men, one of whom used the "deadly and lethal weapon capable of firing with enormous rapidity".
Judge O'Connor said Dublin was becoming quite dangerous with an increasing use of guns in recent years. It was for that reason he imposed a seven-year sentence. If Corbally had been the person who pulled the trigger on this occasion he would have jailed him for at least 10 years.
Mr White objected to Det Sgt O'Gara's evidence that Corbally lived an affluent lifestyle in 1997 despite the fact that he and his two sons drew social welfare unemployment benefit and had two new pickup trucks as well as a new Peugeot car at the house. Mr White said this background was suggesting his client was a major drug baron.