Three men charged with membership of an illegal organisation were remanded in custody until October 2nd at the Special Criminal Court today.
The three were arrested following a Garda raid on a hotel room in Bettystown, Co Meath, on July 29th last, during what gardaí allege was a high level meeting of a splinter group of the IRA.
Counsel for the three - Mr Declan Carroll (24) of Edenmore Crescent, Raheny in Dublin, Mr Robert Brennan (32) Silleogue Road, Ballymun, Dublin, and Mr Seán Mulligan (50) from Carnalughouge, Co Louth - each separately argued the State was opposing bail based principally on the opinion of gardaí.
Det Sup Peter Maguire told the court today: "There is a belief that if granted bail each and every one of the three applicants will continue to commit offences".
Mr Justice Robert Barr said the prosecution was only obliged to explain the "essence" of their case against the accused and that, along with the opinion of gardaí, the Court could reasonably refuse bail.
During the hearing, the court heard that one of the accused, Mr Sean Mulligan, had been convicted in 1977 of the attempted murder of a garda and membership of the Provisional IRA.
The court heard that Mr Mulligan had not committed any offence since his release from prison. Mr Mulligan, the only one of the accused to testify today, pleaded not guilty to the current charge.
In the case of Mr Declan Carroll, Ms Mary-Ellen Ring, prosecuting, told the court he was currently on bail as result of a High Court hearing in December 2000.
Earlier, Det Sup Maguire said the room at the Neptune Hotel in Bettystown, where the raid took place, had been booked in a false name. He also said that during the raid an open hold-all bag containing a stun gun classified as a firearm under the Firearms Act, was discovered.
He said a garda surveillance unit saw Mr Robert Brennan enter the hotel with a "similar" hold-all and the accused appear to pay for the room. He said a receipt for payment was discovered in the bag found during the raid.
Counsel for Mr Brennan, Mr Cormac Quinn, BL, was told by Det Sup Maguire during cross-examination, that the gardaí had yet to receive a report from experts confirming the fingerprints found on the receipt were those of Mr Brennan.
Mr Quinn also asked the court to bear in mind that Mr Brennan had no previous convictions and had two young children, when considering his bail application.
Mr Justice Barr said the refusal of bail was based on the opinion of the Garda, the suspicious circumstances of the meeting, the "subterfuge" in booking the room and the failure of all three to fully answer questions in the course of garda interviews.
He remanded them in custody until October 2nd.
Mr Liam Campbell (32) of Upper Faughart, Dundalk, Co Louth, who was also arrested during the Garda operation, did not apply for bail today but his case will also be heard on October 2nd.