Case against IRA accused "a farce", defence tell court

A man from County Monaghan has completed trial at the Special Criminal Court on a charge of membership of an unlawful organization styling itself the Irish Republican Army. Jim Smyth, aged 44, with an address at Aghalissabeagh, Scotstown, has pleaded not guilty to the charge relating to 25 November 2015. During closing arguments, the defence barrister characterised the prosecution case as a farce, arguing his client had legitimate reason to be present on land near his mother-in-law's house on the night in question. The prosecution maintained its case rested on three pillars, including circumstantial evidence and inferences drawn from the accused's refusal to answer certain questions during garda interviews conducted under the Offences Against the State Act. The three-judge panel, presiding judge Justice Isobel Kennedy sitting with Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin and Judge James Faughnan, will deliver their verdict on 1 June.