Three men to stand trial on IRA charges
Three men have been ordered to stand trial accused of IRA membership and having weapons.
Standing side by side in the dock of Coleraine Magistrates Court, the three men were: Michael Conwell, 31, from Castleton Square, Fintona; Dermot Burke, 60, from Bass Road in Dungiven; Oisin Conwell, 18, from Gortscreagan Road in Claudy.
The trio are jointly charged with two counts of membership of a proscribed organisation, namely the IRA; possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and possessing weapons in a public place, namely two metal poles.
None of the background facts were opened in court but previous courts have heard how three masked men entered a number of licensed premises in Dungiven on January 19, 2024.
According to the police case, Michael Conwell “leads the charge” with the firearm in his left hand as the trio visited four pubs and St Candice’s GAA club over the course of an hour between 7-8pm.
The gang allegedly declared to patrons during their 30-second visits: “We are New IRA, we are here to clean up the bars, if you don’t clean up the bars we are going to do it - the bars are full of drugs.”
In court on Friday, June 13, a prosecuting lawyer submitted there was a case to answer against each of the defendants and their respective lawyers conceded the point.
Freeing them all on continuing bail, District Judge Peter King returned the case to Belfast Crown Court and although he did not specify a date for their arraignment, he said it was likely to be on September 12.