Man granted bail on charge of withholding information about IRA spy murder
A MAN from Scotland has been granted bail after he was charged with withholding information surrounding the murder of IRA spy Denis Donaldson.
IRA spy Denis Donaldson was shot dead at an isolated cottage near Glenties in April 2006
Patrick Gillespie, 74, from Glasgow, appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin more than 10 years on from the killing of the top Sinn Fein official.
He was ordered to surrender his passport and remain in Ireland ahead of his trial.
Mr Donaldson, 55, a close colleague of party president Gerry Adams, was shot dead at an isolated cottage near Glenties in Co Donegal in April 2006.
Gillespie, who was arrested in the county on Tuesday, was remanded with consent to bail from the non-jury court until his next appearance on October 26.
Bail is granted
He was ordered to live at an address in Donegal with a mobile phone number known to Gardai, to observe a night-time curfew and sign weekly at an Irish police station.
He also has to provide surety. Presiding judge Alison Lindsay said: “Bail is granted.”
Gillespie wore a black jacket and green T-shirt.
Mr Donaldson had been living in a remote area of Donegal following his exposure as an MI5 agent
The court heard Gillespie is charged with having information between between April 3 2006 and July 26 2016 regarding the involvement of another person in the Donaldson murder.
Gillespie was represented by counsel Michael O'Higgins and the prosecution by Tony McGillycuddy.
Mr Donaldson had been living in a remote area of Donegal following his exposure as an MI5 agent a year before his death.
Dissident republican group the Real IRA claimed responsibility for the murder in 2008, but the circumstances surrounding Mr Donaldson's outing as a British agent and subsequent assassination have long been shrouded in mystery.
Special Criminal Court in Dublin heard Gillespie is charged with having information about the murder
A long-delayed inquest into the shooting has been adjourned almost 20 times.
Gardai have repeatedly urged the coroner to postpone the probe, citing concerns it might compromise their criminal investigation.
In 2014, the Garda made a mutual assistance request to a police force outside the Irish Republic in a bid to gain what it described as potentially “significant” evidential material.
That material was secured in March this year.