1992 North American IRA arrests

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Four Irish men were arrested in the United States on 11 November 1992, on charges of sending detonators to Northern Ireland for the use of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. They were later acquitted.

Detonator system used to trigger explosion of a main charge

A detonator, frequently a blasting cap, is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common.

Northern Ireland Part of the United Kingdom lying in the north-east of the island of Ireland, created 1921

Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the UK's population. Established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland Assembly holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the British government. Northern Ireland co-operates with the Republic of Ireland in some areas, and the Agreement granted the Republic the ability to "put forward views and proposals" with "determined efforts to resolve disagreements between the two governments".

Provisional Irish Republican Army Irish republican paramilitary organisation

The Provisional Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate the reunification of Ireland and bring about an independent republic encompassing all of Ireland. It was the biggest and most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. It saw itself as the successor to the original IRA and called itself simply the Irish Republican Army (IRA), or Óglaigh na hÉireann in Irish, and was broadly referred to as such by others. The IRA was designated an unlawful terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and an unlawful organisation in the Republic of Ireland.

Contents

The arrests

The four men were arrested on charges of purchasing 2,900 detonators from a supplier in Arizona in November 1989, believed to be destined for the Provisional Irish Republican Army. [1] Three of the arrests took place in New York City, and the other in New Haven, Connecticut. [2] The FBI stated that the arrests formed part of a "terrorism operation" [2] The arrests were described elsewhere as a "political witch hunt". [3]

Arizona state of the United States of America

Arizona is a state in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the Western and the Mountain states. It is the sixth largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona shares the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico; its other neighboring states are Nevada and California to the west and the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest.

New York City Largest city in the United States

The City of New York, usually called either New York City (NYC) or simply New York (NY), is the most populous city in the United States and thus also in the state of New York. With an estimated 2017 population of 8,622,698 distributed over a land area of about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass and one of the world's most populous megacities, with an estimated 20,320,876 people in its 2017 Metropolitan Statistical Area and 23,876,155 residents in its Combined Statistical Area. A global power city, New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, and exerts a significant impact upon commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. The city's fast pace has inspired the term New York minute. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy.

New Haven, Connecticut City in Connecticut, United States

New Haven is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut, and is part of the New York metropolitan area. With a population of 129,779 as determined by the 2010 United States Census, it is the second-largest city in Connecticut after Bridgeport. New Haven is the principal municipality of Greater New Haven, which had a total population of 862,477 in 2010.

Although they were granted bail on November 17, they were held pending extradition to Arizona to face charges, amidst complaints from their family members that visits were difficult. [4]

Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they comply with the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required.

The detainees

The detainees were Patrick Moley, Gerard Anthony Brannigan, Denis Leyne, and Thomas Oliver Maguire, all of whom were citizens of the Republic of Ireland. However, Maguire, Brannigan, and Moley, all originally from Armagh, were legal residents of the United States, and Leyne, originally from Cork was a legal resident of Canada living in Toronto. [3] [4] Moley's brother Shamus had been arrested in 1990, along with Canadian Sean John McCann, following the attempted purchase of a Stinger missile. [3] [5]

The Senior Vice President of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Denis Leyne was removed from his position in 1991 after he was investigated for his links to Sean John McCann, who had been charged with trying to purchase a Stinger missile for the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The following year, Leyne was arrested as part of a 1992 investigation that alleged that four citizens of the Republic of Ireland had conspired to ship detonators to the Provos. Due to a massive heart attack, he died less than a year after his acquittal.

Republic of Ireland Ireland, a country in north-western Europe, occupying 5/6 of the island of Ireland; succeeded the Irish Free State (1937)

Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a country in north-western Europe occupying 26 of 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the eastern part of the island, and whose metropolitan area is home to around a third of the country's over 4.8 million inhabitants. The sovereign state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint George's Channel to the south-east, and the Irish Sea to the east. It is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The legislature, the Oireachtas, consists of a lower house, Dáil Éireann, an upper house, Seanad Éireann, and an elected President who serves as the largely ceremonial head of state, but with some important powers and duties. The head of government is the Taoiseach, who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President; the Taoiseach in turn appoints other government ministers.

Armagh county town of County Armagh in Northern Ireland

Armagh is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All Ireland for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland. In ancient times, nearby Navan Fort was a pagan ceremonial site and one of the great royal capitals of Gaelic Ireland. Today, Armagh is home to two cathedrals and the Armagh Observatory, and is known for its Georgian architecture.

Acquittal

The men were acquitted of the charges in April 1994. [6]

Two native-born Floridians, John Lynch and William Kelly, were also charged in the conspiracy, but denied ever having even known the four men. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ Intelligence Online, Threat Assessment: IRA Smuggling Charges, February 12, 1992
  2. 1 2 Barron, James (November 12, 1992). "4 Arrested in Shipments of Detonators to Northern Ireland". The New York Times .
  3. 1 2 3 4 "6 cleared on charges of shipping explosives, 04/27/94". Wc.arizona.edu. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  4. 1 2 SQOIRSC, "Four Irishmen held in USA despite bail grant", Nollaiz/December 1992
  5. ↑ "Four are accused of trying to buy anti-aircraft missile for the IRA". The New York Times. January 13, 1990.
  6. ↑ "Denis Leyne, 57, a former Canadian banker acquitted in..." Baltimore Sun.


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