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| Pair charged with IRA membership | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Two men have been released on bail after being charged with IRA membership as part of the investigation into the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery. | |
| Tom Hanlon, 42, of Pembroke Road in Passage West and George Hegarty, 62, from Donnybrook Cottages in Douglas, appeared in court in Dublin on Tuesday. | |
| Both men, arrested in Cork on Monday, were charged with IRA membership. | Both men, arrested in Cork on Monday, were charged with IRA membership. |
| Mr Hanlon was a Sinn Fein councillor until 2004, and stood in the Republic's general election in 2002. | Mr Hanlon was a Sinn Fein councillor until 2004, and stood in the Republic's general election in 2002. |
| The Special Criminal Court heard Mr Hanlon, a father of four school children, made no reply when arrested on suspicion of being a member of an unlawful organisation, the IRA, on 16 February, 2005. | The Special Criminal Court heard Mr Hanlon, a father of four school children, made no reply when arrested on suspicion of being a member of an unlawful organisation, the IRA, on 16 February, 2005. |
| Mr Hegarty was also charged with being a member of the IRA on the same date. | Mr Hegarty was also charged with being a member of the IRA on the same date. |
| A lawyer for Mr Hegarty, a father of five on disability benefits, said he was a primary carer for his partner and his grown-up child who has a learning disability. | A lawyer for Mr Hegarty, a father of five on disability benefits, said he was a primary carer for his partner and his grown-up child who has a learning disability. |
| Mr Justice Paul Butler, presiding over the three-judge court which deals with terrorist and organised crime, insisted a bail hearing should go ahead on Tuesday despite prosecution calls for the pair to be remanded in custody for 48 hours. | Mr Justice Paul Butler, presiding over the three-judge court which deals with terrorist and organised crime, insisted a bail hearing should go ahead on Tuesday despite prosecution calls for the pair to be remanded in custody for 48 hours. |
| The judge said he was taking into consideration the age of the alleged offences and evidence both men have lived in Cork and been available to investigators since February 2005. | The judge said he was taking into consideration the age of the alleged offences and evidence both men have lived in Cork and been available to investigators since February 2005. |
| The men were arrested as part of Irish police's Operation Phoenix, which is investigating the laundering of cash taken in the 2004 robbery in Belfast. | The men were arrested as part of Irish police's Operation Phoenix, which is investigating the laundering of cash taken in the 2004 robbery in Belfast. |
| Last month, Cork financial adviser Ted Cunningham became the only person so far to have been found guilty of an offence connected to the robbery. | Last month, Cork financial adviser Ted Cunningham became the only person so far to have been found guilty of an offence connected to the robbery. |