Sean McGovern granted legal aid by Special Criminal Court

Fiona Magennis

Sean McGovern, who was extradited from the United Arab Emirates last summer to face charges of murder and directing a criminal organisation, has been granted legal aid to cover a team of four barristers by the Special Criminal Court.

Approving the application on Monday, Ms Justice Karen O’Connor said in circumstances where the State was making no observation, the court would have to take information submitted by Mr McGovern “at face value”.

Mr McGovern’s defence counsel, Michael Bowman SC, told the three-judge, non-jury court today that his client had filled out and signed a further application for legal aid on Friday.

He said the paperwork sets out Mr McGovern’s personal and immediate circumstances, adding Mr McGovern had “clarified certain issues” in the new form.

Dominic McGinn SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, confirmed the State had received the new application and was not making any observation in relation to it.

Granting legal aid, Ms Justice Karen O’Connor noted the matter had been adjourned on a number of occasions for the State to make enquiries in relation to the application. She said the court had “raised certain issues” on the content of the previous form, which they had described as being “scant in detail”.

Ms Justice O’Connor said this was likely to be “a complex trial” and the court was conscious of the fact that “we want this matter to move on”.

She said in the circumstances the three-judge court was of the view that, where the State had made no observation, they were left in a situation where they must take the information supplied “at face value”.

Mr Bowman asked for the same legal representation in the case as the DPP - two senior counsel and two junior counsel – and Ms Justice O’Connor acceded to this request. She adjourned the matter for mention in the new year and directed that video link facilities be made available for Mr McGovern.

Last week, the court said it remained unsatisfied with documentation provided by Mr McGovern in support of his application.

“We’ve gone from receiving scant information to now even less,” Ms Justice O’Connor said, adding that the court was obliged to exercise due diligence in the use of taxpayers’ money.

"We are not a rubber stamp,” Mr Justice O'Connor had said.

Mr McGovern (39), with a previous address at Kildare Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12, is charged with the murder of Noel Kirwan on December 22nd, 2016, at St Ronan's Drive, Clondalkin in Dublin.

Further offences with which Mr McGovern is charged include directing the activities of a criminal organisation in connection with the same murder between October 20th, 2016, and December 22nd, 2016.

He is also charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation in connection with the surveillance of James Gately in preparation for the commission of an indictable offence between October 17th, 2015, and April 6th, 2017.

Another charge alleges that between October 20th and December 22nd, 2016, he contributed to or participated in activity intending or being reckless as to whether such activity would facilitate a criminal organisation in the murder of Mr Kirwan.

He faces a similar charge of facilitating a criminal organisation in a conspiracy to murder James Gately.

He was previously extradited from the United Arab Emirates to face the charges, but in June, lawyers for McGovern raised a concern about the legality of his return to Ireland.