Coalisland man facing terror charges not allowed over the border

A bid to vary bail to allow a Co Tyrone man branded “the alleged Chief of Staff of the New IRA ” to cross the border was refused today.

The application to permit Kevin Barry Murphy to stay overnight at a hotel in Co Leitrim was made, and refused, at Belfast Crown Court.

The 54-year old, from Altowen Park in Coalisland, is one of ten people charged with terrorist offences arising from a covert surveillance operation conducted by the PSNI and MI5.

The investigation centred on two meetings allegedly held by the dissident republican group in February and July 2020 at two properties in Co Tyrone which were bugged as part of ‘Operation Arbacia.’

Murphy was charged with six offences including directing a terrorist organisation, possessing articles for use in terrorism and conspiring to direct terrorism.

Last June, defence teams for nine of the ten accused launched legal applications to have the cases against the defendants dismissed.

The ‘no bill’ applications were launched on the grounds that there is insufficient evidence against the defendants to proceed to trial – and a ruling on this application has not yet been determined.

Murphy is currently on bail and a bid to vary his conditions for one night to allow him to stay overnight at a hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon was made today.

Solicitor Darragh Mackin from Phoenix Law told Judge Gordon Kerr KC that his client Murphy had his bail varied on two previous occasions which allowed him to stay at hotels in Ballymena and Belfast.

Regarding today’s application, Mr Mackin said Murphy was ‘simply seeking one night’ to stay at a hotel across the border.

When asked what the Crown’s view was, a prosecuting barrister said the charges faced by Murphy were serious.

Saying ‘the case against the applicant is that he is the alleged Chief of Staff of the New IRA’, the prosecutor told Judge Kerr the request was opposed as crossing the border would render Murphy’s current bail conditions ‘null and void’.

She also revealed that a previous application last September to vary bail to allow Murphy to ‘leave the jurisdiction’ was refused.

Addressing this previous application, Mr Mackin said that was a request to go to Santa Ponza which was for a longer period of time than today’s request.

The solicitor spoke of a ‘greater co-operation’ between the authorities in the north and south and said that if Murphy breached his bail whilst in the south ‘he would be apprehended and returned to this jurisdiction’.

Mr Mackin added that it would be ‘totally disproportionate’ to refuse an application to allow  Murphy to stay overnight at a hotel Carrick-on-Shannon when he has already been granted previous variations of bail to allow him to stay in two other hotels without incident.

Ruling ‘no bail conditions are applied when he (Murphy) crosses the border’, Judge Kerr said: “I am not willing to grant him bail.”