Four Derry men were arrested during a garda operation into a Real IRA “show of strength’’ for members of the media near the Derry/Donegal border last march, the Special Criminal Court in Dublin was told today.
The court was told that two of the men later told gardaí they were helping the makers of a BBC documentary.
The four Derry City men are Gary Donnelly (38), Kildrum Gardens, Michael Gallagher (28), Sackville Court, Martin Francis O'Neill(40) , Colmcille Court, and Patrick John McDaid (38), Marlborough St.
They have pleaded not guilty to membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oghlaigh na hEireann, otherwise the IRA, on March 16th.
Prosecuting counsel Patrick Marrinan SC told the court that gardaí mounted an operation along the Derry/Donegal border after receiving confidential information that the Real IRA were to meet with representatives of the media in the Donegal area.
"The information suggested that this meeting was intended to be a show of strength by the IRA and that a firearm or firearms would be shown to members of the media,'' he said.
Gardaí from the National Surveillance Unit observed a Toyota Avensis car arriving at "Mc Intyre's The Nineteeth Hole'' bar at Bridgend at 8.15 pm on March 15th and four men were seen entering the bar and sitting together and not joining other people.
At 9pm two of the accused Mr Donnelly and Mr O' Neill were observed at the bar and at 9.10 pm a white Ford Transit van arriving at the car park. Mr Donnelly and Mr O' Neill and the four men from the bar were then observed leaving in the white van which was followed to Kildrum Upper crossroads but it was not possible for gardai to follow it after that.
At 11.10 pm members of the Emergency Response Unit stopped the van as it headed back towards Bridgend by blocking the road with a garda car. The gardaí were armed and they removed the van's driver from the van and they also found six men in the rear of the van.
In the back of the van gardaí found a digital camera, two tripods, four notebooks, balaclavas, gloves, digital camera tape, discs and memory cards. The occupants were all arrested but none of the four accused were among those arrested then.
The following day gardai stopped a silver Volkswagen Passat car as it headed towards the Derry border.The four accused were in the car and were arrested under the Offences Against the State Act.
Mr Marrinan said that 53 photos were printed from the memory card found in the white van and they showed three men wearing balaclavas and one of whom was in possession of a firearm being interviewed by members of the media.
The tapes found in the white van had voice recordings of a press conference and Mr Marrinan told the court they would see a video of the press conference.
He said it was the prosecution case that two of the accused, Mr Donnelly and Mr O'Neill were in the background at the press conference and were photographed in a doorway.
The court would also hear from an expert visual analyst from the FBI that one of the photos shows the accused Mr Gallagher even though he was
masked.
When questioned by gardaí after their arrest, Mr Donnelly denied membership of any illegal organisation. After he was shown photos of the press conference he asserted that he was assisting the makers of a documentary.
Mr O' Neill told gardai that he was assisting the makers of a BBC "Spotlight'' documentary.
Mr Marrinan said that while there was a considerable amount of circumstantial evidence the principal evidence will be the opinion of chief superintendent Terry Mc Ginn of Letterkenny that each of the accused was a member of an unlawful organisation on the date in question.
Detective Garda Siobhan Tighe, Buncrana, told the court that she arrested Andrew Bell at 11.30 pm near Bridgend after gardai stopped a white transit van. He gave an address in Belfast and said he was a
producer of the Panorama programme.
The trial continues tomorrow.