The Supreme Court has cleared the way for the retrial of building contractor Colm Murphy on a conspiracy charge connected with the 1998 Real IRA bombing of Omagh.
The court however halted his trial on a charge of IRA membership arising from “extraordinary events” in his prosecution since both charges were first preferred 10 years ago, including sickness of a judge and the prosecution on perjury charges of two gardaí who gave evidence in his first trial.
Mr Murphy (54), a native of Co Armagh with an address at Jordan’s Corner, Ravensdale, Co Louth, had appealed against a High Court decision refusing to halt a new trial before the non-jury Special Criminal Court.
He has denied conspiring in Dundalk with another person not before the court to cause an explosion in the State or elsewhere between August 13th and 16th, 1998 and argued his prosecution should not be allowed go ahead on various grounds, including that delays breached his rights to a fair trial under the Constitution and European Convention on Human Rights.
Today, the five-judge court, comprising the Chief Justice, Mr Justice John Murray, Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan, Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman, Mr Justice Nial Fennelly and Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, dismissed the appeal on the conspiracy charge but prevented a trial on the membership charge on grounds of unfairness.
Giving the court’s judgment, Mr Justice Geoghegan noted various periods of delay between Mr Murphy being charged in 1999 and being tried. His trial began in October 2001 but was adjourned because one of the SCC judges became ill, and concluded in January 2002.
His appeal was also delayed but Mr Justice Geoghegan upheeld the High Court finding much of that delay was down to Mr Murphy himself, including a two and a half year delay filing legal submissions.
His appeal was allowed and a new trial ordered but that was also delayed pending the hearing of perjury proceedings against two gardai who gave evidence in his trial. Both were acquitted.
The court ruled the delay of some seven months in 1999 between Mr Murphy first being charged and service of the book of evidence could not be descrtibed as inordinate given the nature of the case and the events in connection with it.
Mr Murphy was freed on bail in 2005 after his conviction and 14-year sentence for a conspiracy offence connected with the Omagh bombing was overturned. Twenty nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, died in the bombing.
