RUC murders accused can holiday in Galway after bail conditions are relaxed
One of the Columbia Three, now charged with the “callous and cowardly” murder of three RUC officers more than 40 years ago, is to go on holiday to Galway after having his bail conditions relaxed.
During a brief bail variation application at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Michael Ranaghan heard the PPS and police agreed that Martin McCauley could travel to Galway for a week.
While the judge temporarily removed bail conditions, he ordered that 62-year-old McCauley has to report to police in Gort on July 12.
McCauley, with an address in Naas in Co Kildare, is charged with the murders of RUC officers Sergeant Sean Quinn and Constables Paul Hamilton and Allan McCloy on October 27 1982.
The three officers were in an unmarked car on the Kinnego Embankment when a 200lb bomb was detonated remotely by way of a command wire.
Responsibility for the explosion, which left a 3.5m deep crater in the road, was later claimed by the IRA.
McAuley, one of three men arrested at Bogota International Airport in August 2001 for allegedly training FARC rebels, was extradited from the Republic of Ireland earlier this year. He denies the offences.
During a fiercely contested bail application when McCauley first appeared in court, a prosecution lawyer said police believe they can link McCauley to the scene of the command wire by forensic evidence.
The court heard how a “number of items” were retrieved from the scene including cigarette butts, plastic sheeting, the command wire used to detonate the massive device and motorcycle helmets used by the killers.
The prosecuting lawyer revealed that having been subjected to modern forensic tests, DNA allegedly attributable to McCauley had been uncovered on the cigarette butts, further revealing that the odds of it coming from someone else were “over a billion”.
While McCauley’s DNA was not found on the motorcycle helmets used by the murder gang as they fled the scene, the court heard there were profiles of other men suspected of involvement uncovered but that those suspects had since died.
Despite police objections he was granted bail but only freed after £100,000 in cash sureties had been lodged with the court.