A man accused of issuing threats against drug dealers in Dungiven has failed in a High Court bid to be allowed back into the town for a three-day Christmas “sleepover”.
Dermot Burke sought permission for a temporary return on bail to his family home while charged over his alleged role in a masked and armed group who issued warnings in the name of the New IRA at a series of pubs in the Co Derry town.
But a judge refused to vary the terms of the 59-year-old’s bail after being told the address is just 500 metres away from one of the bars.
Mr Justice Shaw ruled: “The fact that it is Christmas is not enough to allow this fundamental term of bail to be altered.”
Burke, of Drum Road in Dungiven, denies charges of belonging to a proscribed organisation, possessing a handgun and having an offensive weapon.
Three men wearing balaclavas were said to have gone into four pubs and a GAA club in the town on January 19 this year, declaring their intent to “clean up the bars”.
One of the trio was armed with a gun while the other two brandished metal poles.
They spent less than 30 seconds in each establishment, stating they were from the IRA and issuing verbal warnings to patrons about drug activity in the area, previous courts heard.
It is claimed that the men arrived at the premises in a van used by Burke.
Prosecutors have also contended that searches at his home uncovered an alleged shrine to republican activity, along with photographs of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and former head of al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden.
In June, Burke was granted High Court bail under conditions which included a prohibition on entering the town of Dungiven.
His lawyers applied to vary those terms for a “sleepover” at the family home from Christmas Eve until Boxing Day.
Counsel told the court it would allow Burke to “join in the festivities”.
But a prosecuting barrister argued that the potential threat was too great.
“The address is 500 metres from the first bar entered on the night in question by the masked males,” she said.
“Just because it is Christmas does not mitigate the risks - in fact it may increase them.
“Dungiven is a very small town and those bars will be heavily populated over the period.”
Backing those submissions, Mr Justice Shaw confirmed that the geographical ban must remain in place.”