A man and woman from Co Cork admitted keeping guns and ammunition for a "Real IRA" unit in Cork, the Special Criminal Court heard yesterday.
Det Supt Tony Quilter said Michelle O'Rourke had kept the guns and ammunition at her home in Doneraile for 2½ months, and Brian McSweeney had kept the weapons in the boot of his car for 12 hours after helping to move them from one location to another.
O'Rourke (23), of Rockview Terrace, Doneraile, pleaded guilty to having an AK47 assault rifle, a shotgun, a pistol, 119 shotgun cartridges and 126 rounds of ammunition at her home between July 1st and September 29th, 2002.
McSweeney (22), of Coolowen, Blarney, admitted having the guns and ammunition at Coolowen between September 28th and September 29th, 2002.
Det Supt Quilter, of Anglesea Street, said gardaí searched a house in Co Cork after receiving confidential information, and found the guns and ammunition. As a result, the homes of O'Rourke and McSweeney were also searched, and they were arrested.
McSweeney admitted to gardaí keeping the guns in a bag in the boot of his car overnight after collecting them from a house in Co Cork. He had delivered the bag to Stoneview in Blarney.
Det Supt Quilter said McSweeney had been involved with the "Real IRA" unit in Blarney for one to two months before his arrest, but had not been involved with it since.
O'Rourke told gardaí that she had been told by a relation that he was in the "Real IRA", and he "needed a place to stash some stuff".
O'Rourke said she agreed to allow the "stuff" to be stored in her house, and over a couple of months she saw three or four guns.
She told gardaí she stored the guns "more through friendship than fear", and she knew the guns were to be used by subversives in the North.
Chief Supt Tim Callaghan told Mr Blaise O'Carroll SC, for McSweeney, that he has known the family for over 30 years, and they were "decent, hard working people." Since his arrest, McSweeney has severed all contact with subversives.
McSweeney said in evidence: "It's my own fault. It was stupid. I take responsibility for my actions." O'Rourke told her counsel, Mr Ciaran O'Loughlin SC: "It was stupid of me to get involved."
The court remanded both on continuing bail until today while it considers sentences.