THE SPECIAL Criminal Court ruled yesterday that four men whose convictions for Real IRA membership were quashed last year could not be charged with the same offences again.
The men’s convictions were quashed in May 2008 by the Court of Criminal Appeal, but the Director of Public Prosecutions sought to have them charged again with the same offences at the Special Criminal Court.
The men were discharged yesterday after the three-judge court ruled that it did not have the jurisdiction to charge the men.
Mr Justice John Mac Menamin, sitting with Judge Alison Lindsay and Judge Cormac Dunne, said: “It is clear to this court that the Court of Criminal Appeal took the view that it was not appropriate to order a retrial.” The judge said the Special Criminal Court did not have the jurisdiction to charge the men. He added: “This court takes the view that it would be entirely inappropriate to order a retrial.”
The judge said that in its ruling on the cases the appeal court had dealt conclusively with the matters before it, and he added that there was no indication whatever that the court considered it was doing anything other than finally dealing with the matter.
Ciarán O’Dwyer (54), Castletroy View, Limerick; John Murphy (29), Kilbarry, Old Mallow Road, Cork, Gerard Varian (50), Fairhill, Cork; and Aidan O’Driscoll (30), Ballyvolane, Cork, were all convicted after a 20-day trial at the Special Criminal Court in 2005 of membership of the Real IRA on December 15th, 2003.
Mr O’Dwyer was jailed for five years and nine months; Mr Murphy for four years; Mr Varian for three years; and Mr O’Driscoll for three years.
Three were subsequently granted bail pending the outcome of the appeal, but Mr O’Driscoll served almost three years in custody.
The appeal court had ruled that the Special Criminal Court did not have the jurisdiction to try the men because they were not charged forthwith or immediately after their arrests and brought before the court, as required under the provisions of section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.