IRA SPY CHARGES
Scotsman, 74, appears in court over withholding information of murder
A SCOTS OAP has been charged with withholding information connected to the murder of IRA spy Denis Donaldson.
Patrick Gillespie, 74, from Glasgow, appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin more than 10 years after the killing of the top Sinn Fein official.
Donaldson, 55, a colleague of party president Gerry Adams, was shot dead at a cottage near Glenties in County Donegal in April 2006.
Gillespie, who was arrested in the county on Tuesday, was remanded in custody by the nonjury court until tomorrow at midday.
The three judges, Cormac Dunne, Alison Lindsay and presiding judge Paul Butler, heard Gillespie is charged with having information between April 3, 2006 and July 26, 2016 regarding the involvement of another person in the Donaldson murder.
Detective Sergeant Barry Doyle said the accused made no reply when the charges were put to him.
Det Sgt Doyle told the court he met Gillespie on Main Street, Dungloe, on Tuesday and arrested him at 10.25pm.
The court heard the alleged offence was contrary to section nine of Ireland’s Offences Against the State Act 1998.
Donaldson had been living in a remote area of Donegal following his exposure as an MI5 agent a year before his death.
Gillespie was one of two men arrested. The second man, in his 40s, was released without charge.