Two men charged over murder of Real IRA chief Aidan O'Driscoll

Colin Casey, 32, and Daniel Hegarty, 24, appeared before a sitting of the Special Criminal Court in Dublin’s Criminal Courts of Justice on Monday.

The men were brought before the court to face four charges each in connection with the murder of Mr O’Driscoll in the Blackpool area of Cork city on December 7 2016.

A senior figure in the Real IRA, Mr O’Driscoll, 37, who was also known as “The Beast”, was shot multiple times in the north side of the city.

He was transferred to Cork University Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Casey, whose address was not given in court, was accused of collecting the alleged killers from the Redemption Road/Seminary Walk area of Blackpool after they arrived in a silver Nissan Almera and driving them away from that location in a white Vauxhall Astra.

Casey was also charged with setting fire to the Nissan car and the Vauxhall car in which the alleged killers had fled the scene.

Another charge of driving the alleged killers in a red Opel Astra was also laid against Mr Casey.

Hegarty, whose address was also not specified in court, was charged with collecting and concealing a bag which had been used by the alleged killers in the Farranferris area of Blackpool in the city.

He was also charged with concealing the bag at Ballygibbon, Blarney, and setting fire to a Honda CBR motorcycle that had been used to transport the bag given to him by the alleged killers.

A charge of concealing and burning a red Opel Astra was also made against Hegarty.

Neither men replied when the charges were laid against them.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt sat with Judge Patricia Ryan and Judge Ann Ryan.

Mr Justice Hunt remanded the two men on bail with conditions to appear again before the court on November 12.