A report read into the court record by Mr Justice Paul Carney in the absence of the jury at the start of the trial noted "a number of incidents between the feuding families" in the vicinity of the Four Courts at Griffin's first Central Criminal Court trial in May 2006 on the same charges "and a strong Garda presence was maintained in order to prevent a serious confrontation".
The report noted also that as the trial proceeded, the jury "was aware of the continuous presence of the opposing factions in the vicinity of the court and was intimidated by their presence".
Mr Justice Carney recorded that the jurors requested a Garda escort from the Four Courts after the case ended in disagreement. The report said it was the belief of the investigating gardaí that efforts were being made "to intimidate the jurors".
"There is a grave possibility that incidents will escalate as the new trial date approaches," the report said. "In an effort to keep control on this volatile situation, armed detectives patrol the inner-city area around the clock and two uniform members are confined to a beat in the area of where the two feuding families are residing."
It was a prosecution belief "that this is one of those exceptional cases" where an application should be made to transfer the trial from the Central Criminal Court to the Special Criminal Court.
Mr Justice Carney said, in the absence of the jury at the start of the second trial last December, that it was his preference to hold it in Green Street Courthouse but as that building was not available, then the only other option was to move it to Cloverhill Courthouse where everyone could be subjected to security screening.
People wearing bullet-proof vests would not be allowed into court and he read the Garda security report regarding the violent tensions into the trial transcript.