Adrian Donohoe was due to escort same credit union during previous robbery, court told

Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, who was shot dead during a credit union robbery, was due to give an escort to an employee of the same credit union when it was robbed 17 months previously, the Central Criminal Court has heard.

John Kenwright on Wednesday revealed how two armed men drove into Lordship Credit Union car park in Co Louth as he waited in his car with the day’s takings for a Garda escort to take him to an AIB bank in Dundalk.

One of the men pointed a shotgun at Mr Kenwright and shouted “give me the money” before a second man smashed the passenger side window of Mr Kenwright’s car with the butt of a firearm and grabbed the bags containing €22,500 in cash and €35,000 in cheques. The men then made off in their car, leaving 23 seconds after they entered the car park.

Aaron Brady (29) from New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh has pleaded not guilty to the capital murder of Det Gda Donohoe (41) who was then a member of An Garda Síochána on active duty shortly before 9.30pm on January 25th, 2013 at Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Co Louth. Mr Brady has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of robbing approximately €7,000 in cash and assorted cheques on the same date and at the same location.

Mr Kenwright told prosecuting counsel Brendan Grehan SC that he was a volunteer with the credit union and in 2011 was chairman. The Friday night routine was that once all the day’s takings were counted they would be placed in a bag and either Mr Kenwright or one of his colleagues would wait in the car park for a Garda escort to take them to an AIB branch on Clanbrassil Street in Dundalk.

On August 5th, 2011 Mr Kenwright said he left the credit union at 21.37 and his colleagues drove off, leaving him in his car with the bag containing the cash and cheques. After about two minutes he heard a “high-powered” engine “revving up” coming from the direction of the Ballymascanlon roundabout. He then saw the car enter the main gate of the car park and drive up behind his car “very fast before the brakes screeched” and it stopped behind him.

Looking at his side view mirror Mr Kenwright saw a man get out of the car with a sawn-off shotgun and walk straight to the witness’s door. He said: “He was pointing it at me through the window. I could just see the black barrel.”

The witness remembered the man was wearing a brown jacket with a hood but he couldn’t see his face. He added: “It was all a blur at the time.” He said the man was shouting: “Give me the money, give me the money,” and then another man emerged from the car and went to the passenger side door, shouting the same thing. The second man also had a gun but the witness couldn’t remember what kind.

He used the butt of the gun to smash the passenger side window. “The glass came in on top of me,” the witness said. He described the men as five feet and nine or ten inches tall, of stocky build and he said they had “local enough” accents. He added: “The way they moved and that, I thought they were youngish men.”

Having smashed the window one of the men grabbed the money bags from the front passenger seat and they “jumped immediately back into their car.” They reversed towards the gate of the car park and drove off in the direction of the Ballymascanlon roundabout. Mr Grehan showed CCTV footage of the incident which was timed at 23 seconds.

Mr Kenwright said the raiders’ car had yellow Northern Irish registration plates, the first three letters of which were KIM. He also told gardaí that the raiders were “professional and weren’t a bit nervous”.

Det Gda Stacey Linnane told Mr Grehan that she was working at Dundalk Garda Station in 2011 and attended the scene following an emergency call from Mr Kenwright. He was, she said, “very shaken”. She confirmed that the car used in the robbery was found burnt out in Northern Ireland close to the border and despite forensic examination no evidence was found. She spoke to the owner of the car who said it had been stolen in a “creeper” style burglary.

Gda Linnane also confirmed that gardaí were due to escort Mr Kenwright to Dundalk and that Det Garda Adrian Donohoe was to provide that escort. He was, at the time, in Cooley where he was picking up other credit union employees who were also part of the escort.

Mr Justice Michael White told the jury of seven men and seven women that legal issues are to be dealt with in their absence and they are not required until next Monday.