A 45-year old who was caught with information likely to be useful to a terrorist was handed a two-and-a-half year sentence on Friday.
The information included a handwritten note containing the vehicle registration mark of a serving soldier and digital images of both an improvised firearm and of Enniskillen Police Station.
Gabriel Paul Meehan was arrested after searches were conducted at his home in the aftermath of security alerts in Co Fermanagh.
Following his arrest, he voiced support for dissident republican violence and told a Probation Officer that whilst not being actively involved, if the need arose he would be ‘one of the first on the front line.’
The 45-year old, from Meelmore Drive in Omagh, pleaded guilty to a charge of collecting or making a record of information likely to be useful to terrorists on dates between March 15 and May 7, 2021.
He was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court by Mr Justice O’Hara who spoke of a “total absence of remorse”.
Prior to the jail term being imposed, the court heard that at the time of the offence Meehan lived in Irvinestown.
Setting out the background, Mr Justice O’Hara said that on March 15, 2021 a call was made to the Impartial Reporter by a male claiming to represent the North Fermanagh CIRA.
He said shots had been fired at Enniskillen Police Station and a device left at Shore’s Pass so that area should be cleared.
Later than evening, the PSNI released a statement saying nothing untoward had been found and there had been no reports of shots being fired.
On March 16, 2021 Meehan was observed walking in Enniskillen then seen in his car.
Police tracked his movements and that afternoon he was seen near the Territorial Army Centre in the town.
A soldier drove out of the Centre with Mr Justice O’Hara revealing that it was his vehicle registration that was later found in Meehan’s possession when his home was searched later that month.
He was also seen in the Lough Shore Path area of Enniskillen close to the police station of March 16 and the following day, a call was made to the Irish News detailing the location of an item in that area.
When the location was searched by police on March 17, officers located an improvised firearm.
Meehan’s Co Fermanagh home was searched on March 30, 2021 where a piece of paper with the soldier’s vehicle registration mark was located hidden in a void within an internal door.
His home was searched again on May 6, 2021 and on this occasion two mobile phones were seized.
Found on these phones were images of the improvised weapon in the exact spot it was located by the PSNI on March 17 and in the same place Meehan has been seen at on March 16.
Mr Justice O’Hara said: “This suggests the defendant knew where the device was before the police found it.”
Also found on the phone were photographs of Enniskillen Police Station as well as images and messages which the Judge said “revealed his support and sympathy for the use of violence to achieve a united Ireland.”
Meehan was arrested on May 25, 2021 and when asked about the images of his phone, he said he wanted to expose the police for putting members of the public at risk.
Regarding the soldier’s car registration, he Meehan said he had noted it as the soldier had been following him.
He also said he was not involved in the attack on the police station and said “I have taken a step away from Republican Sinn Fein in this area.”
Mr Justice O’Hara noted that whilst Meehan was not accused of using the improvised item, his possession of the registration number could have been shared and would have been useful to terrorists.
Also noted by the senior judge was Meehan’s admission of support for dissident activity to a Probation Officer.
Defence barrister Brenda Campbell described Meehan as a “vulnerable man” with “mental ill health” who was preyed upon “by people more sophisticated than him.”
Revealing he did not have a relevant criminal, Ms Campbell spoke of Meehan’s stable home environment and said the “limitations of his actions” regarding the offence he pleaded guilty to.