August 11th, 2001: James Monaghan (60), Martin McCauley (42) and Niall Connolly (39), travelling under assumed names, arrived at Bogota's El Dorado Airport on an internal flight from the Farc-controlled town of San Vicente del Caguan. The Colombian military were waiting and the men were seized.
October 2002: The trial began after a protracted pre-trial investigation.
There were two basic charges: of training an illegal guerrilla army in bomb-making techniques and using false public documentation, ie passports. The charges against the accused rested mainly on testimony from alleged Farc deserters.
August 2003: The trial ended with no sign of a verdict.
April 26th, 2004: The three were found not guilty by Judge Jairo Acosta on the charge of training Farc guerrillas but given sentences of two to four years on a charge of using false passports. The Irishmen were subsequently released on bail and went into hiding in Colombia.
Public prosecutor Dr Carlos Sanchez Peinado appealed the verdict and the men were given conditional liberty with orders to remain in Colombia pending the result of the appeal.
December 16th, 2004: In an appeal ruling with one of the three judges dissenting, the not-guilty verdict on the charge of training the Farc was reversed. McCauley was sentenced to 17 years' imprisonment and a fine of about $210,000, and Monaghan and Connolly were each sentenced to 17 years and six months, with fines of about $240,000.
The men could not be traced and were being sought by Interpol.