Four years for INLA rammer of Garda car
Irish News
**Via Newshound
27/11/08
A member of the INLA who rammed a Garda car in Dundalk has been jailed for four years.
Paul Kelly (45), of Cedarwood Park, Cox’s Demesne in the Co Louth town, pleaded guilty to membership of the paramilitary organisation.
Detective Superintendent Diarmuid O’Sullivan told Dublin’s Special Criminal Court that the defendant had been seen driving a black Volkswagen Passat during a Garda surveillance operation on December 20 last year.
When members of the emergency response unit tried to stop the vehicle and blocked the road with a patrol car with its blue lights flashing, Kelly rammed the Garda car.
The father-of-five and his passenger were arrested and when the Passat’s boot was searched gardai found a large number of stolen Garda uniforms.
There were six Garda tunics, seven pairs of trousers, two Garda caps, two Garda ties and a fluorescent jacket, all taken from the homes of officers in Waterford and Dublin.
Gardai also found two black bomber jackets with the words “Republican Socialist Movement Dundalk”, two bulletproof vests and an extendable baton.
Mr Justice Paul Butler said Kelly was “clearly an active member of the INLA”.
The judge said the court must take into account that the maximum sentence for membership of an illegal organisation was now eight years and Kelly had expressed no remorse or any indication as to his future conduct.
'So venceremos, beidh bua againn eigin lá eigin. Sealadaigh abú.'
--Bobby Sands