A bail application by a man charged in connection with an incident in Co Wicklow, during which a security van said to have been carrying more than £250,000 was stopped and a man was shot dead, was rejected by the High Court yesterday.
Mr Saoirse Breatnach (24), Cypress Court, Ballybrack, Co Dublin, is facing two charges of being in unlawful possession of firearms with intent to endanger life and to commit a robbery.
The offences are alleged to have occurred at Cullenmore, Ashford, on the main Dublin-Wexford road on May 1st last. Yesterday Mr Breatnach applied for bail and the application was opposed by gardai.
Det Insp John O'Mahony said in evidence he believed that if Mr Breatnach were granted bail, he would not turn up for his trial. He based that belief on the seriousness of the charge, the weight of the evidence and the likely sentence if he was convicted.
It would be alleged that Mr Breatnach was one of six people involved in the attempted robbery of the van, which was carrying in excess of £250,000. The incident happened at approximately 5.10 p.m. on a Friday before a bank holiday on May 1st when the traffic was very heavy.
The Special Criminal Court had fixed December 1st next for the trial of Mr Breatnach, together with four others. Last week the High Court had refused bail to two of the others. A fifth person had not applied for bail. A sixth was shot dead during the confrontation.
Mr Cormac Breatnach, Inchicore Road, Dublin, a legal costs accountant, said he was an uncle of the applicant. He had always known his nephew to be a hardworking and honest individual. If he said he would do something, the witness believed he would honour that and would turn up for his trial if granted bail.