Man pleads guilty to possessing TNT and a hand grenade

A man has pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to possessing four kilograms of the explosive TNT and a hand grenade.

Declan McDermott, whose address and date-of-birth is not before the court, was charged with knowingly possessing an explosive substance, to wit 10 400 gram blocks of TNT and the explosive head of a hand grenade at Spring Garden Street, Dublin 3, on June 2nd, 2017.

Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC told the three-judge court that McDermott will not require his trial date, which had been fixed for later this month and he could instead be arraigned on the charge.

When the registrar read the indictment to McDermott and asked him how he was pleading, he remained seated and replied: “Guilty”.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, sitting with Judge Patricia Ryan and Judge Ann Ryan, remanded McDermott on continuing bail until April 29th, when he will be sentenced.

John O’Brien (56), of North Great Clarence Street, Dublin 1, admitted on Tuesday to knowingly rendering assistance to an unlawful organisation, in the furtherance of an unlawful object, to wit, possession of an explosive substance under such circumstances as to give rise to a reasonable suspicion that it was not in its possession for a lawful object, at his home address on June 2nd, 2017.

Martin Manning, whose address and date of birth is also not before the court, previously pleaded guilty to knowingly possessing an explosive substance to wit ten 400 gram blocks of TNT and the explosive head of a hand grenade at Spring Garden Street, Dublin 3 on June 2nd, 2017.