A Co Armagh man accused of collecting a police officer’s address and photograph had his bail varied to allow him to attend the all Ireland semi final
Craigavon Magistrates Court heard that police were not raising any objections to the temporary relaxation of bail conditions to allow Sean Martin to go to Croke Park on Saturday for the match between Armagh and Kerry.
Warning that the 41-year-old has to be back by midnight and sign bail again, Deputy District Judge Paul Copeland quipped those requirements still stand “even if the orchard county loses”.
Martin, from Carrigart Manor in Craigavon, is on bail facing two charges arising from an incident on July 6 last year including collecting or making a record of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism and publishing or communicating information “about an individual who is or has been a constable in the Police Service of Northern Ireland which was of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism”.
The charges relate to allegations that Martin took a photograph of a police officer’s private car and that he sent a message with the policeman’s house number to the Facebook account allegedly belonging to a deceased friend.
Previous courts have heard claims that both men had been at a pharmacy to pick up prescriptions when Martin overheard the officer providing his address to staff.
The defendant, who knows the policeman, also allegedly took a photo of him standing by his car after they left the pharmacy and although no vehicle registration details were identified, it is believed to have been sent to a WhatsApp group of up to 15 people.
It was also alleged during an earlier bail application that within minutes of the encounter Martin posted on his Facebook profile: “A police officer was stupid enough to give out their address in front of me” and that he sent a message with the policeman’s house number to an account in the name of a deceased friend.