Eight Dublin men have appeared before a sitting of the Special Criminal Court charged with membership of the IRA

Eight Dublin men have appeared before a sitting of the Special Criminal Court charged with membership of the IRA.

The men were all arrested on Friday afternoon after a search of a commercial premises in Clondalkin as part of an ongoing Garda investigation in to the activities of dissident republicans.

Kevin Braney,38, Des Christie,49, Eamon McNamee,32, John Brock,40, Darren Murphy,42, Declan Phelan,31, William Jackson,53, and Hubert Duffy, 45, were all charged with membership of an unlawful organisation within the State on 29 March.

The court heard that none of the eight men made any reply when the charges were put to them.

Detective Garda Darren Martin agreed with counsel for Darren Murphy that he noticed Mr Murphy had injuries to his face, including a laceration above the right eye, and that a doctor attended to the accused man during his detention.

Det Gda Martin told Mr Bowman that when he asked Mr Murphy when he sustained the injuries, the accused man told him they occurred during his arrest.

None of the eight men applied for bail.

Presiding judge Mr Justice Paul Butler, said the court would grant a disclosure order, under Section 56 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007, for a copy of any recording of the questioning of the accused men during their detention.

He said the court would also order that a transcript be provided for all parties and would treat this evening's sitting as a trial date in respect of all men.

Mr Justice Butler, sitting with Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan and Judge William Hamill, remanded the eight men in custody with liberty to apply for bail to appear in court on 5 April.

Mr Justice Butler said the court would also recommend that Mr Murphy receive whatever medical treatment required while in custody.

lurgan bomb, dissident republicans, the ira

A man (46) has been arrested in connection with a suspected dissident attack on police in Northern Ireland.

Police officers narrowly escaped injury after a device planted inside or close to a bin was detonated in Lurgan, Co Armagh yesterday afternoon.

The suspect was arrested in Lurgan last night and was being questioned by detectives from the PSNI’s serious crime branch.

A PSNI spokesman said the man was assisting police enquiries at Antrim police station. The crude device went off without warning at Levin Road at about 3pm yesterday. There were no reports of any injuries and only minor damage was caused.

Police had been in the area at the time investigating reports that an illegal republican parade was due to take place. Dissident republicans who have been behind a number of shootings and bombings in recent weeks have been blamed for the attack.

Sinn Fein MLA for the area John O’Dowd said the attack was an attempt to kill police. “These so-called dissidents need to come out and explain exactly why they are doing this. The planting of this device along a busy road on one of the busiest days of the year was not only callous it was stupid,” Mr O’Dowd said.

Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness led the condemnation and branded those responsible, "anti-peace process fantasists and common criminals".

This morning, police said they believed dissident republicans placed the device inside a dog litter bin. “Those involved in this attack have no place in modern day Northern Ireland. They showed a blatant disregard for the local community, as anyone could have approached this bin as it exploded,” said PSNI chief inspector Anthony McNally.

Two armoured police Land Rovers were parked close to the scene of the explosion. Shrapnel and debris was scattered over a large distance. Mr McNally said officers would not be deterred from doing their duty.

“We want to reassure the community that we will not be deterred by this attack by individuals intent on dragging us back to the past. Local police will continue to deliver the personal, professional and protective service that the vast majority of residents in the north Lurgan area want to see,” he added.

Belfast shooting, man shot dead belfast

A man in his 20s has been shot dead outside a pizza takeaway shop in Belfast.

It is understood he was hit twice during the gun attack at Kennedy Way in the west of the city last night.

At this stage the killing is not believed to be sectarian. Police said the man was rushed to hospital but died a short time later.

Detectives have launched a murder hunt and the scene remained sealed off this morning. Officers were appealing for information.

Sinn Féin MP for West Belfast Paul Maskey has condemned those responsible for the fatal shooting.

“My thoughts are with the family of the young man murdered on Kennedy Way,” he said.

The victim is believed to have been making a delivery from Domino’s Pizza at about 11pm when he was targeted. A short time later, a car was found burnt out in the Andersonstown area, which is close to the murder scene.

Mr Maskey said the community had been left stunned and disgusted . He said: “Those who carried out this shooting should be ashamed of themselves.

“People are shocked that this is the Easter holiday period and people were in good form and someone last night was willing to go out and take the life of another individual.

“I would urge anyone with information to come forward and give it to whoever they feel comfortable with, whether that be the police or community leaders,” he added.

dublin arrests, dissident republicans, weapons

The men, aged from mid 20s and 50s, were detained on Friday after Officers from the Special Detective Unit searched a shop in the Clondalkin area of Dublin.

The men are being held at various Garda stations in the city under the Offences Against the State Act.

A loaded gun, which was found during follow up searches of the shop, has been sent to Garda ballistic experts for further examination.

A further ten searches have been carried out during the ongoing investigation.

pipe bomb has exploded in a village in Northern Ireland

A pipe bomb has exploded in a village in Northern Ireland, police said today.

The device was detonated in the Ardaveen area of Bessbrook, Co Armagh, just before midnight.

There were no reports of any injuries.

A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said British army technical experts had been called to the scene.

dublin arrests, dissident republicans, real ira

dublin arrests, dissident republicans, real ira

Eight men have been arrested in connection with an investigation into dissident republican activity.

Gardaí searched commercial premises in Clondalkin this afternoon (29/3/2013) as part of the inquiry.

The eight men are aged from their mid-20s to 50s and are being held at a number of garda stations in Dublin.

A garda spokesperson said no weapons or explosives were recovered during the search operation.

Fermanagh bomb?, Dissident republican activity, The IRA

It is understood the suspicious object was discovered abandoned along the Clogh Road in Rosslea, following a telephone bomb warning in the early hours of Wednesday.

Security forces have been at the scene since around 1am.

A number of nearby homes were evacuated overnight and the road has been closed to traffic.
Local MLA Tom Elliott told UTV the device was found near a church.

"It's up near Clogh church, a Church of Ireland right on the border with the Irish Republic, and I'm told there has been an object located close to that area," the UUP politician said.

"It's causing significant disruption for people living in that area and I know some people have already been moved out of their homes. It's totally unfortunate that these people are made victims just because some people don't want our communities living together."

The alert comes after a beer keg containing 60kg of explosives was discovered in an abandoned car in the Derrylin Road area of Fermanagh last Friday.

Dissident republican group Óglaigh na hÉireann claimed responsibility for that device, which they said was destined for the Lough Erne hotel due to host the G8 summit this summer.

A statement from the PSNI said: "Police are continuing to deal with a security alert in the Clogh Road area of Rosslea following the discovery of a suspicious object in the area.

"Two homes have been evacuated. There are no further details at this stage."

Dissident republican group Óglaigh na hÉireann, G8 Summit Ireland

Dissident republican group Óglaigh na hÉireann (ONH) have claimed the intended target of an attempted weekend bomb attack in Fermanagh was the hotel where the G8 summit will be held.

Police believed Lisnaskea Station was the target of the bomb.

 

A 60kg device was found in a car in the Derrylin Road area of Fermanagh at the weekend. It was defused on Saturday and taken for further examination.

Senior officers believed the bomb was headed for the nearby Lisnaskea Police Station, but in a statement to UTV, which claims to be from ONH, said the target was the Lough Erne resort.

In June, some of the world's most powerful leaders will meet at the hotel for the summit - just 16 miles from where the device was discovered.

Using a codeword, ONH also stated they were responsible for a foiled mortar-type bomb attack on a police station in Belfast earlier this month.

The group also released images of the device, which sparked a security alert lasting almost 24 hours.
The caption with the image states: 'MK1 10KG mortar, Range 300 meters'.

An off-duty police officer spotted the potentially deadly device on the Ballysillan Road on Friday, 15 March.



Dissident republican group Óglaigh na hÉireann, G8 Summit Ireland

Declan duffy, real ira, alan ryan, Dublin gardai, INLA, Eamon Kelly, Dessie O Hare

Declan duffy, real ira, alan ryan, Dublin gardai, INLA, Eamon Kelly, Dessie O Hare

INLA boss Declan 'Whacker' Duffy has been released from prison despite being sentenced for life in July 2010 for the murder of a British soldier. Duffy has already meet up with his fellow Armagh INLA associate Dessie O’Hare.

Gardai are on high alert after the 39- year-old was set free last weekend and immediately made his way to Dublin, where he is staying with the mother of his two children. The return of Duffy is a hugely significant and worrying development, with senior gardai expecting him to make a move to fill the power vacuum that exists in Dublin's gangland following the Real IRA internal battle for power and the departure of several major drug dealers from the city.

Officers are shocked that Duffy has re-emerged and thought they had seen the end of him when a judge ordered that he serve a minimum of 24 years in jail after admitting the murder of Sergeant Michael Newman in Derby, England, in 1992. However, the killer managed to use the fact that the slaying was an act of terror to successfully argue that he should be freed under the Good Friday Agreement, hundreds of killers, serial killers and others have benefited from the terms of what has become known as the ‘Good Felons Agreement’, with many released terrorists going on to commit further serious crimes.

Despite renouncing the INLA when he was sentenced, gardai do not believe Duffy will lead an honest life and have already observed him drinking with several senior criminals. Sources say he is a ruthless and violent criminal who takes pleasure in inflicting pain on people. The Armagh-born INLA man has bragged about how he enjoys kneecapping victims and hearing them scream.

One senior source said: "We couldn't believe it when the word came through that he was back. He was spotted drunk at least four times this week and is already associating with well-known criminals.

"Declan is not a man to rest on his laurels. He knows the Real IRA is imploding and that gangland is up in the air after Eamon Kelly was murdered last year and the lads who murdered Alan Ryan have fled the country”.

"We think he has calculated that Dublin is rife for taking over. He is right too and we are keeping a very, very close eye on developments, as is the Special Branch. Where Duffy is, violence and death and destruction inevitably follow."

Whacker Duffy led the INLA in the infamous 'Ballymount Bloodbath' in 1999. During the notorious incident, an INLA active service unit took six men hostage when they went to a factory in the Ballymount industrial estate to demand money from the owner. The men were viciously tortured, but when 12 of their friends arrived a mass brawl ensued and INLA volunteer Patrick 'Bo' Campbell died after being struck with a machete.

Duffy was caught with a note detailing exactly what happened in Ballymount and was jailed for nine years. When he was released in February 2007 he reorganised the INLA and set about taking over from drug dealing gangs in Dublin 8. He lived in an apartment on Hanover Street with his longterm partner, which was not far from where gang boss Freddie Thompson lived.

He decided to target Thompson and took over the doors of pubs and clubs around the city centre and started dealing drugs. He stepped on the toes of three senior drug dealers that were supplied by Thompson and successfully demanded protection money to allow them to operate. It was common knowledge that Duffy once acted as muscle for 'the Border Fox' Dessie O'Hare and criminals were scared stiff of him because of this and what happened at Ballymount.

When Thompson heard of the protection racket he was furious and the pair had a massive row in a pub on Francis Street. Duffy said that he was in the area to stay and that if Freddie did not give up his territory then he would be murdered.

Harmed

Freddie took out a €10,000 contract against Duffy, which led the terror chief to say: "If any member of the INLA or our political wing is harmed, the INLA will wipe them out.

"If they think they can run off to Spain and live happy ever after, they should think again. They will be hunted down."

Despite his talk, Duffy took to wearing a bullet-proof vest and had two permanent bodyguards. In September 2007 he placed a pipe bomb under Thompson's car but it didn't explode. Duffy took his plan to another level on November 22 when INLA volunteer Denis Dwyer was arrested on Camden Street with an AK- 47 in his carrier bag. He was on his way to shoot Fat Freddie. When Thompson heard of the incident he knew that Declan Duffy would not give up until he was dead and fled to Spain.

As well as taking on Thompson's mob, Duffy also beat up the head of the IRA in Dublin and took over the Provos' protection rackets. Gardaí were alarmed by how quickly Duffy's control was growing, and members of the Special Detective Unit started to take a keen interest in him.

Escaping

He had joined the INLA when he was just 13 after his brother was shot dead by the British army in 1987. He had a long criminal record and had served a five-year sentence for escaping from custody at gunpoint. In August 2007 gardaí received a tip-off that a man had been kidnapped and was being held hostage at a house in Tallaght.

When armed Emergency Response Unit officers raided the house, they discovered a 21-year-old man bound and gagged lying naked in the bath upstairs. He was in agony and covered in blood, having been attacked with a wheel brace and a broom handle. The torture went on for a number of hours.

The victim was a son of a small West Dublin businessman, who the gang was trying to extort money from. Nine people were arrested in a downstairs room and Duffy was among them. The victim was so scared that he refused to make a complaint.

In June 2008, Duffy was arrested outside the home of a prominent businessman in Cork after gardai foiled a suspected kidnap operation. He was charged with INLA membership and remanded in custody to Portlaoise Prison.

Surprisingly

In May 2009, when he surprisingly pleaded guilty before the special criminal court and publically denounced the INLA, he was jailed for four years and was also arrested on foot of a European arrest warrant for the murder of Michael Newman.

The 34-year-old army recruitment officer was shot dead in Derby by three INLA men, including Duffy and Joseph 'Mad Dog' Magee. Magee was jailed for 25 years in 2004 on the understanding he would be released under the Good Friday agreement.

After completing his sentence for INLA membership in April 2010, he was extradited to Britain, where he pleaded guilty to the murder of Sergeant Newman. The court heard how the soldier was a "soft target" because he was unarmed. He was shot at point-blank range in the head in what the judge described as a "heinous crime". He sentenced Duffy to life imprisonment, saying that he should be behind bars for a minimum of 24 years. However, he was freed last week after just two and a half years due to the terms of the ‘Good Friday Agreement’.

Fermanagh bomb, PSNI, Dissident Republicans, The IRA, Irish Republican Army

Fermanagh bomb, PSNI, Dissident Republicans, The IRA, Irish Republican Army

The IRA under the leadership of IRA Chief of Staff, Colin Duffy, are preparing for the most significant bomb attack against the PSNI since a PIRA bomb attack in Newry that killed several RUC Officers two decades ago. The IRA are confident that they can overcome the fact that their organisation has been heavily infiltrated by British Agents and Informers and kill several PSNI Officers in one spectacular attack.

A vehicle found abandoned and made safe in Northern Ireland was carrying a viable bomb that was destinted for an attack on a police station, the PSNI said today.

The device was found in a rural part of Co Fermanagh not far from the luxury Lough Erne golf resort where this June’s G8 conference of world leaders is being held.

The alert at Derrylin Road - the main arterial route between Enniskillen and Dublin - was raised early yesterday morning and caused local homes to be evacuated.

Dissident republicans are suspected of planting the bomb.

“The people responsible for this have no regard for the lives of anyone in our community,” PSNI district commander Pauline Shields said. “It is fortunate that no-one was killed or seriously injured as a result of this reckless act.

“Although investigations are at an early stage it is our assessment at present that this vehicle was destined for Lisnaskea PSNI station.”

US president Barack Obama, German chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian president Vladimir Putin are expected to attend the G8 meeting. A massive security operation will be mounted and thousands of police officers from UK forces will be drafted in to help bolster PSNI numbers. They will help provide security and safety at a range of key venues and will be able to exercise the same powers of arrest, stop and search.

Dissident republicans have launched a series of bomb attacks against members of the security forces in recent months.

A week ago the Police Service of Northern Ireland discovered a mortar-type device aimed towards New Barnsley police station in north Belfast. Also last week three officers escaped injury when an explosive device detonated within metres of them as they patrolled a coastal path on the outskirts of Belfast.

Earlier this month two men were arrested after police intercepted a van carrying four mortar bombs which were primed and ready to fire at a station in Derry.

Detectives in Newry and Mourne, supported by local officers in South Armagh, raided premises on Mountain Road on Wednesday

Detectives in Newry and Mourne, supported by local officers in South Armagh, raided premises on Mountain Road on Wednesday.

They recovered two vehicles, believed to be stolen, and two suspected firearms.
Two quads have also been seized.

Police say enquiries are ongoing.

Newry and Mourne Area Commander, Chief Inspector Davy Beck, said: "The hard work and commitment of local officers has resulted in dangerous weapons being taken out of circulation, making Newry and Mourne a safer place to be.

"This search and the seizure of vehicles should send a clear message that there is no hiding place for criminals in Newry and Mourne."

CI Beck added: "I would like to thank the local community for their support and patience during this operation.

"This again demonstrates how much more successful we are in tackling crime when we work together."

Bryan Christopher McManus, Dissident republicans, Real IRA, The IRA, Guns

Bryan Christopher McManus, Dissident republicans, Real IRA, The IRA, Guns

A Newry engineer, who reactivated guns for dissident republicans, claimed the terrorists told him the weapons were for defensive purposes in interface areas between loyalists and republicans, a court has heard.

The engineer pleaded guilty to a number of weapons offences.

On Wednesday, Bryan Christopher McManus, 56 and from Aileen Terrace in the city, pleaded guilty to possessing eight handguns, including one which was disguised as the removable handle of a walking cane.

He also admitted having a rifle, component parts of weapons, seven magazines and a quantity of assorted ammunition including armour piercing and expanding, or 'dum dum' bullets, designed to expand on impact.

McManus also pleaded guilty to conspiring with another person not before the court to convert imitation guns into firearms on dates between 1 September 2007 and 24 September 2010.

The weapons haul was recovered from outbuildings behind his house in Aileen Terrace in September 2010 and his lawyer said he had been modifying previously deactivated guns for several years.

The lawyer said police had alerted McManus to a number of threats on his life and after the last one, in 2007, the accused made contact with what he described as "certain elements" who might be able to provide him with protection.

He said McManus was able to reactivate a gun which was given to him by a man referred to only as Mr X, who then asked him to undertake other similar work.

The lawyer said McManus had become indebted to the people who had provided him with the weapon and 'things spiralled out of control.'

McManus told police that veiled threats had been made against his family and he felt that he was caught in a trap so he continued to re-activate firearms.

During interviews he said he believed that Mr X and his associates were members of the Real IRA who told him the guns were for defensive purposes in interface areas.

The defence lawyer said that McManus had initially seen the work of reactivating the weapons as a challenge to his engineering skills.

The defendant told police he was "the best toolmaker they would ever meet".

But eventually he botched some of the jobs and said he was relieved when he was caught.

He said McManus wasn't a member of any terrorist organisation and had been preyed upon by more sinister people and he wasn't able to say no to them.

Judge David McFarland adjourned the case until Friday and warned McManus that a custodial sentence was inevitable.

Colm Murphy, Seamus Daly, Omagh bomb verdict

Two republicans have been found liable for the Omagh bombing following a landmark civil action taken by relatives of some of the victims.

Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly were ordered to face a retrial after they successfully appealed a finding of liability against them in the original case in Belfast High Court.

But their second trial delivered the same outcome in the same court, with judge Mr Justice John Gillen ruling the men were responsible for the 1998 Real IRA attack.

The attack killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, when a dissident republican car bomb ripped through the Co Tyrone town on 15 August 1998. More than 200 were injured in the blast.
No-one has been criminally convicted of the bombing.

However, in 2009 Murphy, a builder and publican from Dundalk, Co Louth, and Daly, a bricklayer from Culloville, Co Monaghan, and two others were held responsible in the initial civil action taken by some of the bereaved families.

Along with Real IRA leader Michael McKevitt and Co Louth republican Liam Campbell, the men were ordered to pay £1.6m in damages.

McKevitt, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence in the Republic of Ireland for directing terrorism, and Campbell, who recently successfully fought extradition proceedings to Lithuania on arms smuggling charges, failed in their bids to overturn the Omagh civil judgment.

They are now seeking to have their case heard in the European Court of Human Rights.

Murphy and Daly's appeals were upheld, but both men were ordered to face another trial.

The retrial started in January and finished last month, with Mr Justice Gillen delivering his reserved judgment today.

The IRA, Dissident republicans, Mortar attack, PSNI attack, Belfast bomb

Police investigating the mortar-type device found in west Belfast want to speak to two men who were seen in the area days before the alert.

The scene of the alert at Ballygomartin Road.

 

The device, which had the appearance of a mortar in a launcher tube, Road, was found by an off-duty officer close to Ballygomartin early on Friday morning.

Army bomb experts believe it failed to go off near a police station in the area and had the potential to cause serious harm.

The alert continued until around midday on Saturday.

Chief Inspector Emma Bond confirmed the target of the "mortar-type device" may have been the nearby New Barnsley Police Station.

She said those behind the attack had "very clear, and I believe, murderous intent."

The security alert forced residents from their homes and nearby primary schools had to shut on Friday.

The Ballygomartin Road, which was closed at its junctions with Highcliff Gardens and Springmartin Road, has now reopened.

Police say all traffic is moving freely. They have reissued their appeal for information on the incident.

They wish to speak to two men, who were seen in the area between 5.30pm and 6pm last Tuesday, to eliminate them from their inquiry.

Detectives from the Major Investigation Team believe the device was brought to the Ballygomartin Road in a car or van between Thursday evening and Friday morning.

They are also appealing for anyone who witnessed any suspicious behaviour or activity in this area of waste ground at the time to contact them.

Peter butterly murder, real ira, the ira, dissident republicans, shamrock rovers, eddie mcgrath

Peter butterly murder, real ira, the ira, dissident republicans, shamrock rovers, eddie mcgrath

Shamrock Rovers concern: A dissident gunman who was arrested following the murder of RIRA chief Peter Butterly in Meath is the current manager of Shamrock Rovers U-18s team. Eddie McGrath (31) was one of five men arrested in the car park of the Huntsman Inn, Gormanstown, Co. Meath, minutes after Butterly was gunned down in cold blood.

On Friday, dad-of-three Butterly - a former RIRA leader in Louth - was buried in a low-key ceremony without any paramilitary trappings. Butterly had recently been expelled from the dissident organisation by the Northern-based leadership for allegedly pocketing RIRA funds. It is alleged that Alan Ryan’s Real IRA gang in Dublin had failed to hand over up to 200K to the newly named IRA.

Charged

Last Saturday, Tallaght man McGrath was charged with the unlawful possession of a 9mm calibre Beretta handgun and ammunition. The suspected dissident was also charged with membership of an illegal organisation styling itself on the IRA. McGrath's arrest has sent shock waves through Shamrock Rovers, where he is on the coaching staff.

In 2005, he was a member of the fans' '400 club', who rescued Rovers from financial ruin by buying the soccer club. The photograph shows McGrath, from Land Dale Lawns in Tallaght, coaching a Shamrock Rovers team. McGrath remains a member of the club, is currently employed as the manager of club's U-18 squad and has previously been involved in coaching schoolboy teams.

A source said McGrath's arrest has "stunned" Shamrock Rovers, who did not know the coach was involved with dissidents. "He was a big supporter of Celtic and liked singing rebels songs but that's it," said a source.

"Eddie has been a dedicated member of the club for a long number of years."

On Thursday, McGrath was one of three Dublin men remanded in custody for an extra week in connection with the Butterly shooting. Both David Cullen, from Brackenwood Ave in Balbriggan, and Dean Evans (22), from Grange Park Rise, Raheny, were also brought before the Special Criminal Court. The three men had been charged in connection with the shooting at a special sitting of the non-jury court last Saturday night.

Evans and McGrath were each charged with the unlawful possession of a 9mm-calibre Beretta semi-automatic pistol and seven rounds of ammunition with intent to endanger life. They were also each charged with membership of an illegal organisation styling itself the IRA on March 6. Cullen was charged with the unlawful possession of a 9mm-calibre Beretta semi-automatic pistol.

A Spokesperson for Shamrock Rovers said anyone working with the club has to undergo rigorous garda vetting. "Shamrock Rovers has over 400 members. However, most have no involvement in the running of the football club apart from attending AGMs and contributing their monthly membership fee. Along with that, we have 3,000 season ticket holders.

"Shamrock Rovers also has over 100 volunteers who help the club in a number of different ways, from our schoolboy section, to match-day activities, to selling tickets. Those volunteering in our schoolboy section are Garda-vetted for the protection of the young people they work with."

However, Garda vetting is only related to actual convictions, 96% of persons who abuse children are never convicted, and someone with a terrorist conviction would not be banned from working with children.

Butterly (35) - a former commander for the RIRA in Co. Louth - was blasted in the chest and head in the pub's car park last Wednesday. The Gardai's elite Emergency Response Unit (ERU) arrived at the scene within minutes and arrested five men in a number of cars at the scene. It is believed that Gardai had the suspected dissidents under surveillance and had been monitoring the meeting between the group and Butterly.

However, they had no advance knowledge of a shooting. Butterly's murder is just the latest shooting in a bitter internal battle for control of the so-called new IRA.

On Saturday 16/3/2013, Butterly was laid to rest following a dignified funeral mass in his home parish in Co Louth. Hundreds of mourners turned out to pay tribute to the dad-of-three at his funeral mass Saint Colmcille's Church,Togher. His body was carried into the church in a coffin which had not been draped in the Tricolour - in stark contrast to the practice at most dissident republican funerals.

During the service, one of his daughters fought back tears and was comforted by Butterly's wife Eithne. Butterly is survived by his wife, his parents, Vera and Matt, and children Aoife, Ciara and Matthew. Unlike Alan Ryan's funeral last year, there was no visible sign yesterday of any paramilitary display at the funeral.

Breaking news, garda raids, crime, fuel laundering, cybercrime, dissident republicans

Breaking news, garda raids, crime, fuel laundering, cybercrime, dissident republicans

Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter TD is determined to confront crime wherever it is detected, the Gardai are striking hard against Criminal activity in all its forms, be that crime white-collar, cyber or terrorist related.

Dawn raids have been carried out on almost 20 premises as 300 officers from north and south of the border targeted a criminal gang.

Documents and bank statements were seized during the cross-border operation led by the Criminal Assets Bureau.

Operation Loft centred on the activities of a prominent Co Louth republican and an organised crime gang, who are suspected of laundering and trading illegal fuel.

"The objectives of the operation are to seize evidence of assets deriving from oil fraud and money laundering, seize and dismantle illegal oil operations, seize cash or other assets including vehicles used in the criminal activity and to freeze bank accounts," said a garda spokesman.

Seven homes, 10 businesses and two warehouses were searched across the counties of Monaghan, Dublin, Kildare, Waterford, Offaly, Roscommon, Westmeath, Meath, Tipperary and Louth, where one property spanned across the border.

Gardai said 100 personnel from various agencies in Northern Ireland, including Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and more than 200 gardai and customs officers in the Republic of Ireland took part in the joint investigation.

A senior garda said a prominent republican is at the centre of the multi-agency probe into the profits being generated from the illegal fuel trade. "He is the centre of all the activity and it all spans out from that like a spider's web," he added. "We are collecting evidence to build up a case and are following the money." He said the case is not linked to the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, who was shot dead near Dundalk in January.

The raids, which began at 5am on Wednesday, were carried out at addresses and business premises of key members of the organised criminal group. It involved members from CAB, the Special Detective Unit and various regional uniform Garda units, who were supported by the armed Emergency Response Unit (ERU), Garda Air Support Unit and the Air Corps. HMRC and PSNI specialist teams searched locations in Northern Ireland, close to the border.

A Garda spokesman said investigations conducted by CAB to date have identified significant funds being generated and laundered from the sale of laundered diesel - with the colour marker washed out - and stretched petrol, which has been diluted with methanol. "The profits generated from this illegal activity are significant, as is the loss to the Irish Exchequer," gardai added. "This illegal activity has knock-on effects on legitimate businesses as well as on unsuspecting customers who have very often experienced damage to the fuel system of their vehicles from the laundered diesel or poor return per litre of petrol."

Garda later confirmed that no arrests were made during the operation.

3 PSNI Officers Injured in Bomb Blast Belfast

3 PSNI Officers Injured in Bomb Blast Belfast

The officers were responding to a call in the Hazelbank area at around 9.15pm on Saturday when they heard a loud bang.

They were making their way along the Duncrue towpath at the time of the attack, which police are now treating as attempted murder.

Police say they believe the officers were the intended target of the attack.

They confirmed that a explosive device had detonated after searches, involving police helicopters and army bomb experts, were conducted in the area on Sunday.

No one was injured in the attack; however a PSNI spokeswoman said the officers were left badly shaken.

Those who carried out this attack have shown complete disregard for the safety of the local community and police officers serving this community.

Chief Superintendent Henry Irvine

District Commander Chief Superintendent Henry Irvine said his colleagues were lucky to be alive.

Condemning the attack, he said: "This is a well-known area that is used every day by members of the local community. This is only by good fortune that police officers and members of the public were not killed or seriously injured last night."

Police say they are extremely keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed any unusual activity or suspicious vehicles between the early hours of Friday morning and 9pm on Saturday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives in Newtownabbey.

The M5, which was closed between Hazelbank and Greencastle for almost 24 hours, has reopened.

The Duncrue towpath remained closed from Dargin to Fortwilliam on Sunday night.

A number of items have been removed from the scene for further forensic examination.

peter butterly murder, murder charges, special criminal court, real ira, dissient republicans

peter butterly murder, murder charges, special criminal court, real ira, dissient republicans

Three Dublin men have been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Peter Butterly in Co Meath last Wednesday.

Mr Butterly was shot dead in the car park of the Huntsman Inn at Gormanston.

Edward McGrath, 31, of Land Dale Lawns, Springfield, Tallaght; Dean Evans, 22 of Grange Park Rise, Raheny and 28-year-old David Cullen of Brackenwood Ave in Balbriggan appeared before a special sitting of the Special Criminal Court in Dublin tonight.

Mr Evans and Mr McGrath were each charged with the unlawful possession of a 9mm calibre Beretta semi-automatic pistol and seven rounds of ammunition with intent to endanger life.

They were also each charged with membership of an illegal organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hÉireann on 6 March.

Mr Cullen was charged with the unlawful possession of a 9mm calibre Beretta semi automatic pistol.
The three men were remanded in custody until 14 March.

martin mcguinness death threat, dissident republicans, real ira, the ira, sinn fein

martin mcguinness death threat, dissident republicans, real ira, the ira, sinn fein

Police have warned Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of a "real and active" threat against his life from dissident republicans.

Mr McGuinness said detectives have linked the development to his condemnation of a mortar bomb find in his native Derry on Sunday night and other remarks he made in support of the PSNI.

He said he was informed of the threat by a senior PSNI officer last night.

Mr McGuinness insisted that he would not be silenced by the dissidents.

He said: "Both myself and the PSNI are taking this threat seriously.

"However there are times when in political leadership staying silent is not an option, and I will not be silenced by threats like this."

He said he would "defend the peace process from attack from whatever quarter, be it these groups or the loyalist flag protesters over recent months".

"It says much about the mentality of those controlling groups like the one behind the threat that in their warped logic threatening Irish republicans and their families somehow advances the cause of Irish reunification.

"I am very sure of the ground I stand on.

“I am also very sure that it is the path shared by republicans across this island genuinely interested in building a new agreed Ireland, republicans who put Ireland before ego, criminality and self gain."

The death threat is the latest in a recent spate against politicians in Northern Ireland.

Elected representatives from across the political divide have been subject to similar intimidation, from extremists on both sides, during the ongoing Union flag controversy in Northern Ireland.

Yesterday, SDLP Assembly member Conall McDevitt said he had received a bullet and sympathy card in the post.

Mr McDevitt, a south Belfast representative, also said he would not be deterred by the development.

peter butterly, meath shooting, real ira, dissident republicans, alan ryan, meath gardai

peter butterly, meath shooting, real ira, dissident republicans, alan ryan, meath gardai

Five men remain in Garda custody this morning in connection with the fatal shooting of a member of the Real IRA in a pub car park in Co Meath yesterday.

Peter Butterly (35), a father of three from Cortown, Togher, Dunleer, Co Louth, was shot dead in the car park of the Huntsman Inn in Gormanston at about 2.30pm while under surveillance by armed gardaí.

A postmortem is due to take place today at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

Mr Butterly was due to stand trial next Wednesday on charges of membership of an illegal organisation, namely the Real IRA. He was free on bail.

He had gone to the car park for a meeting with others from the Real IRA, of which he was a regional commander.

However, the Real IRA has been feuding internally since the shooting dead of key figure Alan Ryan last September. Yesterday the group of men turned on Mr Butterly as part of that feud and shot him as he sat in his car in the pub car park. He staggered from the vehicle, then collapsed and died.

Members of the Emergency Response Unit were in the immediate vicinity, keeping Mr Butterly under surveillance because his life had been threatened, and also to gather information on whom he was meeting.

After he was shot, four suspects in their 20s fled in a car but were stopped by gardaí at the Balscadden Road not far from the pub. A fifth man, in his 40s, was arrested nearby. A handgun was recovered.

Paramilitary funeral
The suspects are from Coolock and parts of north Co Dublin. They knew Alan Ryan and some were among a group arrested in relation to the show of paramilitary strength at his funeral in Donaghmede, north Dublin, last September.

Mr Butterly’s remains were yesterday examined at the scene by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Khalid Jabbar.

Mr Butterly had been before the Special Criminal Court last March charged with Real IRA membership arising from his suspected transportation of bomb components in 2010.

The warrant used to gather evidence against him was ruled unconstitutional and charges were not pursued.

He was due to stand trial next Wednesday on a new charge of membership of an illegal organisation.

man shot dead meath, gormanstown shooting, real ira, dissident republicans

man shot dead meath, gormanstown shooting, real ira, dissident republicans

A man has been shot dead in Co Meath this afternoon in an attack believed to be linked to the activities of the Real IRA.

The incident occurred just after 2.30pm in Gormanston in the car park of the Huntsman Inn.

The dead man is in his mid 30s and is from Dunleer, Co Louth.

He has recently been before the Special Criminal Court charged with membership of an illegal organisation but the case collapsed after a key warrant used during the Garda investigation was ruled unconstitutional in an unrelated case.

He was being investigated for allegedly transporting bomb making equipment in 2010 but the evidence gathered under the warrant could not be used and the case collapsed.

Gardaí have arrested a number of men in the aftermath of the shooting. They are being detained under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act at Garda stations in Dublin.

The investigation into the fatal shooting is being conducted from Laytown Garda station.

http://dissidentrepublicans.blogspot.ie/2012/03/real-ira-case-collapses.html

Thomas Hamill, 40, and 41-year-old Martin McGilloway

Thomas Hamill, 40, and 41-year-old Martin McGilloway - who are neighbours at the Springdale Estate in the Co Tyrone town - pleaded not guilty to having the improvised explosive devices with intent to endanger life on 28 May last year.

They also denied a charge of having the bombs under suspicious circumstances.

Both men were remanded into custody and Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland said he would review the case in two weeks time and set a provisional trial date in late May.

The charges arose after police stopped a car on the Mineveigh Road, outside the village of Newmills, near Coalisland.

Derry arrests, mortars, The IRA

The PSNI has confirmed that four live mortar bombs with the potential to cause mass fatalities were discovered in a van in Derry last night.

Up to 100 families were evacuated from their homes in the Brandywell area overnight as a result.
Police are continuing to question three men in their 30s about the incident.

PSNI Chief Superintendent Stephen Cargin said officers stopped a white van on the Letterkenny road, close to the Co Donegal border, at approximately 8.15pm.

A man in the van was arrested and a man on a motorcycle travelling directly behind it was also held.
Chief Supt Cargin said: "Police then found a white van with the roof open with four live mortar bombs primed and ready to go in that van.

"We believe that those weapons were destined for a police station somewhere in the Derry area and that they were designed to cause mass casualties or mass fatalities," he added.

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Supt Cargin said the dissidents drove a van carrying the explosives through a built-up area despite the risk they could explode at any time.

Two of the men in custody are aged 37 and the other is 35.

A petrol bomb and missiles were thrown at police as evacuations of the homes were carried out.

PSNI detectives dealing with the incident are linking it to dissident republican activities.

Speaking at the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Letterkenny, Taoiseach Enda Kenny praised the gardaí and PSNI for "their activity, their vigilance and their activity in bringing that potentially disastrous situation to a halt".

Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness said: "There is no going back to the past. The community in Derry City and elsewhere simply will not allow it."

Elsewhere, police have said that a crude but viable explosive device was left outside a shop in Co Antrim.
Army bomb experts were called to Doagh Road in Newtownabbey in the early hours of this morning.

Police said the four-and-a-half-hour alert ended at about 6.20am.

dissident republicans, real ira, kildare arrests, kildare charges

dissident republicans, real ira, kildare arrests, kildare charges

Two men appeared in court last night in connection with dissident republican activity in Co Kildare.

The men, aged 39 and 45, were arrested following the discovery of items associated with the manufacture of pipe bombs at a house in Newbridge on Wednesday.

The men were detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act at Naas and Newbridge Garda stations.

They are scheduled to appear at the Special Criminal Court at Parkgate Street this evening.