Lordship robbery trial to run in tandem with burglary charges, court rules

The Special Criminal Court has ruled that burglary and robbery charges against two men will be heard together, rejecting an application to separate the trials. Brendan Treanor, aged 34, formerly of Dundalk, County Louth, and James Flynn, aged 32, from South Armagh, face conspiracy charges relating to house burglaries between September 2012 and January 2013, and robbery charges stemming from a credit union incident in Bellurgan, County Louth on 25 January 2013. Both have pleaded not guilty. Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding over the three-judge court, exercised his discretion to combine the trials while confirming each charge will be considered separately. The court heard evidence from Virginia and Monaghan residents describing break-ins and car thefts during the relevant period. Detective Garda Laura Bolger provided maps charting distances between alleged theft locations and properties connected to the accused. Aaron Brady, previously convicted of murder and burglary in the same matter, is serving a life sentence with a forty-year minimum and is appealing his conviction.