A member of the Garda National Surveillance Unit told the Special Criminal Court today that he saw FBI agent David Rupert and alleged Real IRA leader Michael Mc Kevitt leave a house in Dundalk together.
Detective Sergeant Thomas Healy said that he saw Rupert arriving at a house in a cul de sac in Oaklands Park, Dundalk on February 18th, 2000 in a car driven by the accused's son.
Rupert went into the house and a short time later he observed the accused arriving at the house in a van driven by another man and he also went into the house.
The witness said Mr Rupert and the unidentified male got into a blue Fiesta car that had pulled into the cul de sac.
Asked if he could describe what Michael McKevitt was wearing he said he could not but that he knew Mr McKevitt well. Questioned as to whether Mr McKevitt was wearing a cap or a jacket or trousers, the witness replied: "I'd have known if he had a skirton".
"If you were there," counsel retorted."If who was there? I was there My Lords," the witness replied.
Earlier, Detective Garda Kevin Moriarty, also of the National Surveillance Unit, said that he saw David Rupert attending a Republican Sinn F&eacite;in Ard Fheis at the Europa Hotel, outside Drogheda in November 1998 and also saw him attending a meeting of the32 County Sovereignty Movement at the Carrickdale Hotel in Co Louth in June 2000.
Cross examined by Mr Magee SC, Detective Garda Moriarty said that he had photographed Rupert attending the meetings.
He said that Mc Kevitt was not any of the meetings he saw Rupert at but his wife Bernadette Sands Mc Kevitt was at the meeting in the Carrickdale Hotel.
It was the twenty first day of the trial of Michael Mc Kevitt(53) who denies membership of an unlawful organisation between August 29th, 1999 and March 28th, 2001. He also denies directing the activities of the same organisation.Mr Rupert, a former trucking company boss and bar owner, has told the court that he infiltrated dissident republican groups for the FBI and the British Security Service(MI5).The court has heard that Mr Rupert has been paid 1.25 million dollars to date for his work. Mr Rupert has claimed that Mc Kevitt told him he wanted to set up a new dissident republican terrorist group that would carry out attacks in Britain and that hewas seeking outside help, including from Saddam Hussein's Iraq, for the group.
The trial continues on Monday