Two men who played roles in the murder of dissident republican Peter Butterly have been jailed by the Special Criminal Court. McDermott, of Riverdale House, Garrymore, Ballinagh, Co Cavan, pleaded guilty in November last year to helping an unlawful organisation murder Butterly. Both men had originally pleaded not guilty at the three-judge court to the murder and their trials had been underway since the beginning of October last year, the court heard. Although McDermott’s guilty plea was not offered at the earliest opportunity, it was timely and valuable, outlined Mr Justice Coffey. Maximum sentenceReferring to Frank Murphy, Mr Justice Coffey said the maximum sentence for impeding the apprehension or prosecution of a person was seven years in prison.

Source: The Irish Times April 01, 2019 12:22 UTC