Seamus Daly ( Irish: Séamus Ó Dálaigh) is an

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

from

Kilmurray Kilmurry McMahon (''Irish language, Irish: Cill Mhuire Mhic Mhathuna''), also called Kilmurry-Clonderalaw, is a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Clare in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is also a Catholic parish in the Dioces ...

, Castleblayney,

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

. He was charged with being a member of the

Real Irish Republican Army The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), was a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aimed to bring about a United Ireland. It was formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejec ...

(RIRA) in Dublin's

Special Criminal Court The Special Criminal Court (SCC; ) is a juryless criminal court in Ireland which tries terrorism and serious organised crime cases. Legal basis Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to establish "special courts" with ...

in 2004, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to years in prison. In 2009, he appeared in

Carrickmacross Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The population was 5,745 at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a castle buil ...

District Court for failing to produce insurance and driving without a licence at Tullyvaragh, Carrickmacross and also failing to produce insurance and a driving licence when stopped in Carrickmacross Court car park. He received a 12-month driving ban and a €3,250 fine.

Background

He is a builder from Cullaville,

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

Omagh bombing

In 2009, Daly, along with three other Real IRA members, were ruled to be civilly liable for the Omagh bombing and ordered by a Belfast court to pay £1.5 million to the victims of the attack. All four men refused. On 10 April 2014, arising out of the police investigation into the Omagh bombing, Daly was charged with the murder of 29 people in Omagh in 1998, two charges linked to the explosion and two counts linked to an attempted explosion in

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

in April 1998. He appeared in court on 11 April and was remanded in custody due to the possibility he may flee the jurisdiction. On 6 May, Daly's case was adjourned for four weeks at the prosecutor's request. In February 2015 Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions ordered that Daly face charges "both for the Omagh bomb and Lisburn bomb and the charges associated with those two incidents." After their star witness contradicted himself in a pre-trial hearing, prosecutors in the North dropped all charges against Daly. He was released from Maghaberry high-security prison in County Antrim on 1 March 2016.

Campaign for his release

Since his arrest in 2014, Daly's family and friends maintained his innocence. A committee was established in 2014 to work on highlighting the case and they released a number of statements. A website and social media campaign was established in July 2015 to highlight his ongoing imprisonment, which campaigners described as "the age old tactic of internment by remand."

References

Irish republicans Irish republicans imprisoned by non-jury courts Living people People from Castleblayney Real Irish Republican Army members Year of birth missing (living people) {{Ireland-bio-stub