Date set for trial of man accused of Denis Donaldson murder

A date has been set for the trial of a man accused of an attempted murder and of murdering senior Sinn Féin official and MI5 spy Denis Donaldson.

Michael Bowman SC, the prosecutor, told the three-judge, non-jury Special Criminal Court today that Antoin Duffy (50) will face two separate trials. The first trial, for the alleged attempted murder of Liam McGinley, will begin on October 5, 2027.

The second trial, for Mr Donaldson's alleged murder, will begin when the first trial ends.

Mr Duffy had been in prison in Scotland following a 2015 conviction for his part in a plot to murder members of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA).

Gardai from the Donegal division arrested him in March of this year following his extradition from Scotland.

Brendan Grehan SC, defending Mr Duffy, told the court that there is going to be "very significant disclosure" in the case involving agencies in Scotland, witnesses in State protection and evidence gleaned through the use of "intrusive surveillance methodology".

Mr Grehan said the defence has seen only the fruits of the Garda investigation but "not what is behind the wall". The case will be mentioned again in January to update the court on the disclosure process and any issues that may arise.

Mr McGinley's attempted murder is alleged to have happened at Meenaboll, Churchill on November 19, 2007.

Mr Duffy, last of Braade, Kincasslagh, is also charged with the murder of Mr Donaldson and possession of a shotgun and ammunition with intent to endanger life at Cloghercor, Doochary, between April 3 and April 4, 2006.

Denis Donaldson was a former member of the Provisional IRA and a high-ranking Sinn Féin official. He associated with senior members of the party, including former party president Gerry Adams.

In 2002, when Mr Donaldson was Sinn Fein's top administrator working in the Northern Ireland Assembly in Stormont, he was charged with involvement in an alleged spy ring. Three years later, the charges were dropped and within days, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) informed Mr Donaldson that he was about to be exposed in the media as an MI5 informer.

Donaldson met with senior republicans and admitted that he had been working for the British intelligence unit, MI5, and the Special Branch unit of the RUC for more than 20 years. On December 16, 2005, Donaldson held a press conference in Dublin in which he publicly acknowledged his role as a double agent.

He removed himself from public life and went to live at an isolated cottage near the Glenties, where, at the age of 55, he was shot dead on April 4, 2006.

The dissident republican organisation, calling itself the Real IRA, later claimed responsibility for the murder.