Man charged with IRA murder of UDR soldier in Co Armagh in 1979 said victim was 'a legitimate target'
A man charged with the IRA murder of a part-time soldier in Co Armagh 46 years ago allegedly told interviewing detectives the victim was a legitimate target in “a war”, the High Court heard yesterday.
Prosecutors claimed James Donegan, 67, made the comments when first questioned by Irish police about the killing of Joseph Porter.
Mr Porter, a 64-year-old farmer and part-time Ulster Defence Regiment member, was shot dead close to his home on the Creggan Road in Mountnorris on June 24, 1979.
Donegan, of Bruce Manor in Arvagh, Co Cavan, was extradited from the Republic of Ireland earlier this month to be prosecuted over the attack.
He denies charges of murder, possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and membership of a proscribed organisation.
The victim was found dead at the entrance to his farm yard after being gunned down by killers who are believed to have ransacked his home.
Days later the Provisional IRA claimed responsibility for the murder, stating that Mr Porter had been “interrogated and executed” because of his involvement with “the British war machine in Northern Ireland”.
The court heard Donegan is allegedly linked to the murder by a fingerprint recovered on a bedroom door at Mr Porter’s house.
In 2012 the Historical Enquiries Team reviewed the case and established a match to a print previously obtained from the defendant.
With Donegan living in the Republic of Ireland, the PSNI asked An Garda Siochana to take over the case five years later.
A further strand of alleged evidence relates to comments he made during interviews with the Irish police in March 2017.
Donegan denied being at the victim’s home and suggested his fingerprint must have been planted by the RUC.
But Crown counsel also disclosed: “He said he had been a soldier in a war and that Mr Porter would have been a legitimate target as a UDR soldier.”
An application for bail was opposed amid claims Donegan could abscond to avoid the threat of imprisonment if ultimately convicted.
Adjourning proceedings, Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan said she wanted to study the extradition judgment before ruling on the bail application.