Man, 74, in court on charge linked to SF man's murder

An elderly man from Scotland has been granted bail after he was charged with withholding information surrounding the murder of IRA spy Denis Donaldson.

Patrick Gillespie, 74, from Craigvar Street in Glasgow, appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin more than 10 years on from the killing of the top Sinn Fein official.

Denis Donaldsonplaceholder image
Denis Donaldson

Donaldson, 55, a close colleague of party president Gerry Adams, was shot dead at an isolated cottage near Glenties in Co Donegal in April 2006.

Gillespie, who was arrested in the county on Tuesday, was remanded with consent to bail from the non-jury court until October 26.

Denis Donaldson, pictured in 1983placeholder image
Denis Donaldson, pictured in 1983

He was ordered to hand over his passport, to live at an address in Donegal with a mobile phone number known to gardai and to observe a night time curfew and sign weekly at an Irish police station.

Two women are to provide surety worth 15,000 euro (£12,600).

Presiding judge Alison Lindsay said: “Bail is granted.”

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