Irish Taxi Forum
Public Area => Taxi Talk => Topic started by: Dr. Martin Gooter Bling on June 28, 2018, 03:46:48 am
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https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/taxi-driver-has-conviction-for-ira-membership-quashed-on-appeal-1.3545572?mode=amp (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/taxi-driver-has-conviction-for-ira-membership-quashed-on-appeal-1.3545572?mode=amp)
A taxi driver whose DNA was found on the number plate of a car which blew up outside Newry courthouse in 2010 has had his conviction for IRA membership quashed on appeal.
Darren Weldon (47), from Kilbarrack in Dublin, but with an address at Drinadaly in Trim, Co Meath, had pleaded not guilty at the Special Criminal Court to membership of an unlawful organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Óglaigh na Éireann, otherwise the IRA, on October 14th, 2014.
He was found guilty by the non-jury court and sentenced to five years imprisonment with the final year suspended on January 16th, 2017.
Weldon has his conviction quashed on Wednesday after the Court of Appeal found the trial court had made a “factually incorrect” finding in relation to a photo on Weldon’s iPhone. Extracting a key strand from the combination of evidence left a “substantial gap” in the trial court’s reasoning, causing the Court of Appeal to consider his conviction “unsafe”. A retrial was ordered. Weldon had previously worked as a taxi driver. He had no previous convictions.
During the trial, the Special Criminal Court heard evidence that a car bomb exploded outside Newry courthouse in February 2010. Police found a DNA sample on the number plate of the car, recovered from debris, which matched swabs taken from Weldon upon arrest four years later.
Weldon had been arrested before, in September 2012, for suspected IRA membership, after attending the funeral of Alan Ryan, who was one of six men jailed for taking part in a “Real IRA” training camp in Co Meath in October, 1999. Alan Ryan was shot dead in 2012.
The Special Criminal Court relied on a picture message dedicated to Alan Ryan, found on Weldon’s phone, with the caption: “Heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done regardless of the consequences.”
It also relied on a photo which, the court said, showed Weldon in the company of two other individuals who had criminal convictions for membership of the same unlawful organisation.
In fact, the photo showed the late Vincent Ryan (the late Alan Ryan’s brother) and Philip Forsyth, neither of whom had convictions for membership of an unlawful organisation, and Weldon was not in the photo, as had been submitted by his barrister, Hugh Hartnett SC.
Giving judgment in the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice John Hedigan said Weldon’s conviction was based upon a combination of evidence.
Combination of evidence
There was opinion evidence from a senior garda that Weldon was a member of an unlawful organisation at the relevant time. His belief was based on confidential information and not based on Weldon’s conduct or attendance at the funeral of Alan Ryan.
There was supporting evidence in the form of DNA linking Weldon with the registration plate and and there was also supporting evidence found in the presence of the photo’s on Weldon’s iPhone.
Mr Justice Hedigan said three photos were found on Weldon’s phone, the first of which contained “somewhat sentimental memorial content” relating to the late Alan Ryan. The court did not take this into account.
The court did, however, take into account the other two photos which showed Alan Ryan accompanied by the legend “heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done regardless of the consequences”. This was regarded as evidence of the accused’s support and association with the late Alan Ryan.
Mr Justice Hedigan said the Court of Appeal agreed that this supported the opinion evidence of Chief Superintendent Peter Kirwan.
However, in a case which involved a combination of belief evidence, DNA evidence and two different photos, Mr Justice Hedigan said it was difficult to know which particular piece of evidence was conclusive and which was not.
Extracting one of the key strands - one of the photos - from the totality of the evidence left a “substantial gap in the reasoning of the court”. For this reason, Mr Justice Hedigan, who sat with Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Edwards, said the court considered the conviction to be unsafe and allowed the appeal.
Weldon’s conviction was quashed, a retrial was ordered and the 47-year-old was admitted to bail to appear before the Special Criminal Court on Friday next.
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God save Ireland say the easily led and gullible.
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Strange conviction.
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God save Ireland say the easily led and gullible.
Who would they be then?
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Where do I start? Lets begin with the poor bastards in Glasnevin from 1916 who died so their descendants could hand over the keys to the IMF and ECB..........how about the elderly lining the corridors of hospitals.....how about the people who drafted up Bunreacht na hÉireann only to see it torn up by a shower of lunatics who are men on Monday and women on Tuesday....how about the morons in republican bars who think there'll be a united Ireland because of a "struggle" and not some political wheeling and dealing.? How about the fact that the only men wearing green at the Battle of the Boyne were Willamites or Orangmen?
The obsolete notion some in this country have about suffering under British and not European oppression makes me curdle.........they're so busy staring at themselves in mirrors from high stools they can't see the wife carrying on behind their backs. God save Ireland me hole...........it can't be saved it it is already dead.
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The one part of the proclamation that always puzzles me is,whn people in this cointry are trying to make a point and they specifically refer to the part that says ALL THE CHILDREN OF THE NATION.I wonder if Pearse,Connolly,Mcbride,etc etc had known at the time that the children of the nation ,100 years later,would have black,brown,yellow,faces etc etc would they still have given rheir lives.its like the poem says for what died the sons of rosion
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Agree with the European bit
Europe is riding us
One nanny state of Europe on the way till brexit hit them
He get his licence back now I wonder now the courts shafted him
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The one part of the proclamation that always puzzles me is,whn people in this cointry are trying to make a point and they specifically refer to the part that says ALL THE CHILDREN OF THE NATION.I wonder if Pearse,Connolly,Mcbride,etc etc had known at the time that the children of the nation ,100 years later,would have black,brown,yellow,faces etc etc would they still have given rheir lives.its like the poem says for what died the sons of rosion
All children I think meant Catholics and protestants alike
Not just one or other
They haven't the foggiest idea about immigration
Sure in the 80s we couldn't predict it so how could they in 1916
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That seems a logical explanation of what was meant by ALL THE CHILDREN OF THE NATION as refered to in the proclamation ,I really did always wonder what was meant by the authors of it at that time
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That seems a logical explanation of what was meant by ALL THE CHILDREN OF THE NATION as refered to in the proclamation ,I really did always wonder what was meant by the authors of it at that time
Relate it to the time it written Catholics v protestants
Now it be Irish v immigration
Based upon time and what going on around it
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Where do I start? Lets begin with the poor bastards in Glasnevin from 1916 who died so their descendants could hand over the keys to the IMF and ECB..........how about the elderly lining the corridors of hospitals.....how about the people who drafted up Bunreacht na hÉireann only to see it torn up by a shower of lunatics who are men on Monday and women on Tuesday....how about the morons in republican bars who think there'll be a united Ireland because of a "struggle" and not some political wheeling and dealing.? How about the fact that the only men wearing green at the Battle of the Boyne were Willamites or Orangmen?
The obsolete notion some in this country have about suffering under British and not European oppression makes me curdle.........they're so busy staring at themselves in mirrors from high stools they can't see the wife carrying on behind their backs. God save Ireland me hole...........it can't be saved it it is already dead.
Lots of poor bastard s in graves from world war one and two
Millions literally
Fought to keep Europe free from Germany
Who rules Europe now!
Barstool republicans as u hit on there are generally idiots
It's the ones that dont talk about it you watch
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Strange conviction.
If he was a Drug dealer or Thief, he'd have his licence back in jig time.
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Aaah, the good old days. Times were much simpler back then. How could a man like Connolly who was born the son of Irish immigrants in Scotland, joined the British army to earn a crust, returned to Ireland and emigrated to the US where he learned German and Italian to preach trade unionism to exploited immigrant workers have any conception of multi-cultured society? How could de Valera, born the son of a Basque immigrant in the US, think there may be a future beyond a Roman Catholic Church dominated republic?
Of course, if our heroes of 1916 had a quarter of the support in life as they acquired in death things may have been different. One possibility is that the Germans would have lent greater support which may have led to a Federal Europe dominated by German culture and policy. Hang on, I thought I said things could have been different!
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Yes,,Rats..you hit it on the head.......actually, had every Royal in England not been a rabid Nazi.....Herr Schickelgruber might have won. As the Sun paper said about Ozil, the German midefielder after their exit: Don't menshuun ze VAR.
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i don't entertain the memory of the "heroes" of 1916 in the slightest.
irish power mad arseholes wanting to take over from english power mad arseholes.
that's all it was.
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Aaah, the good old days. Times were much simpler back then. How could a man like Connolly who was born the son of Irish immigrants in Scotland, joined the British army to earn a crust, returned to Ireland and emigrated to the US where he learned German and Italian to preach trade unionism to exploited immigrant workers have any conception of multi-cultured society? How could de Valera, born the son of a Basque immigrant in the US, think there may be a future beyond a Roman Catholic Church dominated republic?
Of course, if our heroes of 1916 had a quarter of the support in life as they acquired in death things may have been different. One possibility is that the Germans would have lent greater support which may have led to a Federal Europe dominated by German culture and policy. Hang on, I thought I said things could have been different!
I've fuck all against the immigratis
In fact I was one myself in 2 countries
But 1916 men couldn't have predicated the amount of African s here or Indians in England
It wasn't a issue
And devalera shaped Ireland with archbishop MC quad right up to their deaths they both life long friends
Look to the constitution it was written by Catholics for Catholics only changing recently
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i don't entertain the memory of the "heroes" of 1916 in the slightest.
irish power mad arseholes wanting to take over from english power mad arseholes.
that's all it was.
Power mad hero's ? Or just sick of British guns pointed in their face day after day walking around Dublin?
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I think if the good doctor forgive me but I think he means the cunts in power are all the same no matter who they from where they are..... Ehh
...I mean the other way round....
An the workin class get shited on no matter who's in charge
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i don't entertain the memory of the "heroes" of 1916 in the slightest.
irish power mad arseholes wanting to take over from english power mad arseholes.
that's all it was.
Power mad hero's ? Or just sick of British guns pointed in their face day after day walking around Dublin?
i'll stick with power mad arseholes.
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I see the signatories to the Proclamation as heroes. Their bravery and courage is beyond question. I don’t think any of them believed that they would live to seize power. They marched into a battle that they couldn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, win… in the belief that the war would be won pursuant to the principles established. Of course, one can (and, in the interests of healthy debate, should) question the rationale to some extent. Pearse, for example, was an advocate of Home Rule so it seems fair to ask if they believed they could achieve anything that wasn’t already on the table. The eventual establishment of the Free State, limited to 26 counties, swearing allegiance to the Crown and relinquishing control of ports and borders arguably added no more than a little word play to home rule.
Connolly, in my mind, was a truly great man. Throughout his life he put his commitment to championing the rights of working men, including immigrant workers, before himself. The fact that the taxi rank at the train station named in his honour is predominately worked by immigrants often strikes me as a fitting tribute.
Mentioning de Velera always promotes healthy debate. He was a devout Catholic so there is no way in the world that he would honour any commitment to Government free of religious interference. He became a traitor in the eyes of many Irishmen the day he refused to accept democratic ratification of the Free State Treaty by his own Government. There are even some who believe he became a British spy to save himself from martyrdom. However, there are few who would disagree that self-promotion and self-preservation are what really made him tick, (lack of) principles passed on through generations of FF leaders.
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Most of the so called freedom fighters would have just been
Common or garden criminals had they not been given an excuse to pick up a gun.
Now that the cause is over ( in exchange for debt), they have reverted to type.
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I tend to respect the men of 1981 even more then the men of 1916
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The cause is not over silver,we are still living in an occupied country
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if they did'nt have notions of power then why did'nt they just go on hunger strike and starve themselves to death to raise awareness to whatever the fuck they wanted, foregoing the hundreds of civilian deaths.
de valera, collins, brugha, macneill etc. all ended up installing themselves as presidents and ministers. i rest my case. "we're doing this for the Irish people" load of bollix. you're doing it to satisfy your own notions of grandeur and the civilians suffer and die for the pleasure.
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I was not in town yet,but are the bum boys all over the kip ?
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The cause is not over silver,we are still living in an occupied country
The Good Friday agreement recognises that the majority of the population of the six counties is of Ulster Scots descent. One has to consider why we should want to inflict the incompetence of ROI Govt on people with whom we share little cultural commonality. Given that the vast majority support the peace process and respect each others civil liberties, it seems difficult to find any good reason to upset the equilibrium. Demographics may bring about a united Ireland at some time in the future but it won't happen without further bloodshed. Of course, Scottish independence (should that ever happen) would throw a spanner in the works.
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I stopped respecting sinn fein the day their leadership shook hands with the British queen
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Had that not happened I'd say they woulda lost your support once they started running African immigrant candidates at local elections in the Republic Of Ireland.
Even if I had any respect for the shiners I couldn't support their taxi policy. They want to ban men from driving taxis in the Republic Of Ireland on foot of convictions handed down by the British courts, the same courts that convicted the Birmingham Six and the Guilford Four. Worse than that, they want to follow the vetting procedures of the Private Security Authority. I don't have to tell you that the security trade is the only trade that can boast more immigrant licensees than the taxi trade, largely due to it's blind acceptance of "declarations" from applicants with unverifiable criminal histories. The latter is clearly very heavily influenced by the party's African immigrant membership.
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The cause is not over silver,we are still living in an occupied country
It is for Normal people Whackos like the 32 county sovereignty committee still have an agenda, 99% of the population don't agree, preferring to concentrate on Mortgages and education instead.
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Some
I see the signatories to the Proclamation as heroes. Their bravery and courage is beyond question. I don’t think any of them believed that they would live to seize power. They marched into a battle that they couldn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, win… in the belief that the war would be won pursuant to the principles established. Of course, one can (and, in the interests of healthy debate, should) question the rationale to some extent. Pearse, for example, was an advocate of Home Rule so it seems fair to ask if they believed they could achieve anything that wasn’t already on the table. The eventual establishment of the Free State, limited to 26 counties, swearing allegiance to the Crown and relinquishing control of ports and borders arguably added no more than a little word play to home rule.
Connolly, in my mind, was a truly great man. Throughout his life he put his commitment to championing the rights of working men, including immigrant workers, before himself. The fact that the taxi rank at the train station named in his honour is predominately worked by immigrants often strikes me as a fitting tribute.
Mentioning de Velera always promotes healthy debate. He was a devout Catholic so there is no way in the world that he would honour any commitment to Government free of religious interference. He became a traitor in the eyes of many Irishmen the day he refused to accept democratic ratification of the Free State Treaty by his own Government. There are even some who believe he became a British spy to save himself from martyrdom. However, there are few who would disagree that self-promotion and self-preservation are what really made him tick, (lack of) principles passed on through generations of FF leaders.
Some Believe that Gerry Adams was a informer put in at an early stage to turn the conflict around Martin McGuinness was also turned somewhere along the line
Devalera never a British agent he wasn't executed because he was a American citizen and Britain didn't want to upset USA during ww1
SF today is useless and shaped by British agent s
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I tend to respect the men of 1981 even more then the men of 1916
1981 them lads are true republicans their likes will not be seen again
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I was not in town yet,but are the bum boys all over the kip ?
Yep rofl
(http://i64.tinypic.com/rwuefm.jpg)
Which one is you?
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Sorry I wasnt there I was knocking up your boy friend at the time
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Some I see the signatories to the Proclamation as heroes. Their bravery and courage is beyond question. I don’t think any of them believed that they would live to seize power. They marched into a battle that they couldn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, win… in the belief that the war would be won pursuant to the principles established. Of course, one can (and, in the interests of healthy debate, should) question the rationale to some extent. Pearse, for example, was an advocate of Home Rule so it seems fair to ask if they believed they could achieve anything that wasn’t already on the table. The eventual establishment of the Free State, limited to 26 counties, swearing allegiance to the Crown and relinquishing control of ports and borders arguably added no more than a little word play to home rule.
Connolly, in my mind, was a truly great man. Throughout his life he put his commitment to championing the rights of working men, including immigrant workers, before himself. The fact that the taxi rank at the train station named in his honour is predominately worked by immigrants often strikes me as a fitting tribute.
Mentioning de Velera always promotes healthy debate. He was a devout Catholic so there is no way in the world that he would honour any commitment to Government free of religious interference. He became a traitor in the eyes of many Irishmen the day he refused to accept democratic ratification of the Free State Treaty by his own Government. There are even some who believe he became a British spy to save himself from martyrdom. However, there are few who would disagree that self-promotion and self-preservation are what really made him tick, (lack of) principles passed on through generations of FF leaders.
Some Believe that Gerry Adams was a informer put in at an early stage to turn the conflict around Martin McGuinness was also turned somewhere along the line
Devalera never a British agent he wasn't executed because he was a American citizen and Britain didn't want to upset USA during ww1
SF today is useless and shaped by British agent s
You might be closer to to the truth than you think. Some considered Scappaticci to be a scapegoat. Certain men from certain backgrounds refused to punish him as they were only too aware of his innocence. SF today is a radical Marxist think-tank for miscreants. No doubt, McGuinness and co were playing both sides most of the time.
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There was a lot of speculation around Scap. Depending on your viewpoint he was innocent, a double agent or knows too much. Those who believe he knows too much believe he deposited certain memoirs with his solicitor for publication should he meet an untimely end, before reading the Provo sanctioned statement to the media. There are some former Provos that hate Adams for refusing to aknowledge his army membership and for entering into secret negotiations with the Brits before the peace process, the degree of secrecy being key i.e. even very senior members were excluded from the need to know.
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Adams is considered a British agent by many
So is MC Guinness
The tried and tested divide and conquer employed by by the Brit s worked a treat. Republicans divided and splintered while dup laughing
What has last 25 ur achieved?awards for Bertie and Clinton
Cant even get a Irish language act or a sign up in Irish so how will they get a united ireland?
SF bent over and dup shafted them holding power in Westminster, there be no united ireland in any of our lifetime
Scap was a informer but he was fed to the press to shield a higher up informer
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Irishmen were never hard to divide. We divided ourselves time and time again. I suppose the first thing that would strike any republican about Adams is his Anglo-Saxon name. There has to be at least one turncoat in his ancestry, right?
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His brother a sex abuser and left in the party after Adams found out
Unbelievable
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Irishmen were never hard to divide. We divided ourselves time and time again. I suppose the first thing that would strike any republican about Adams is his Anglo-Saxon name. There has to be at least one turncoat in his ancestry, right?
Can't go by surnames in this country.,,One of the most evil Shankill butchers' name was Murphy..another top scum-bucket was Gallagher. Look at our own Varadkar and him a Fenian.........
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Indeed, historically we were an adaptive lot. Still at least when singing we're not British, we're not Saxon, we're not English... when singing songs, that is!
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Go on home British soldiers is the title of the song rat,lets hope the brits will be going home tomorrow night WHEN THEY PLAY COLUMBIA
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Indeed, historically we were an adaptive lot. Still at least when singing we're not British, we're not Saxon, we're not English... when singing songs, that is!
When you want to roast an Irishman, you'll always find another willing to turn the spit.
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Aaah you've got me humming The Man From The Daily Mail now, DM.... always liked that one.
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Aaah you've got me humming The Man From The Daily Mail now, DM.... always liked that one.
Man from the daily mail? Lol
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Go on home British soldiers is the title of the song rat,lets hope the brits will be going home tomorrow night WHEN THEY PLAY COLUMBIA
Thankfully these days most of our international disputes are sorted out on the 'Field of Play' with no resort to violence in the stands or on the streets.
A lot of countries don't have the same level of non-violence that we have. Ireland is actually ranked in the Top Ten of safest countries in the world.
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What international disputes have been sorted out on the "field of play" and what is the "field of play"?