By Sean Murphy
A DONEGAL man charged with the murder of IRA-MI5 spy Denis Donaldson has been remanded in custody to appear in court next month.
Donaldson was killed ten years ago in Glenties following the Sinn Féin party worker’s shock revelations in 2005 that he was a British agent for 20 years.
Antoin Duffy, last of Braade in Kincasslagh, appeared before court this week to face charges in relation to Donaldson’s murder.
Duffy (49) faces six charges, including murder and possession of a shotgun and ammunition with intent to endanger life at Cloghercor, Doochary, on dates between April 3 and 4, 2006.
He appeared before the three-judge Special Criminal Court on Monday via video link and was remanded in custody for 24 hours for the book of evidence to be presented.
But the State prosecution service told the non-jury court on Tuesday that the book of evidence was “not quite there yet” and was “awaiting final statements”.
Duffy’s lawyer stated it was “quite a complicated matter” and said: “There is a lot of material above and beyond what is in the book of evidence.”
Suspect Antoin Duffy.
Murder suspect Duffy was then further remanded in custody until July 6 next for service of the book.
Mr Duffy, who was extradited from Scotland in March past, is expected to be in court on that date.
Gardaí issued a statement on March 30 to reveal that Donegal detectives, who had been investigators Mr Donaldson’s murder, arrested a man in his late 40s.
The arrest was carried out with the assistance of An Garda Síochána Extradition Unit, Garda National Bureau of Investigation, and the Irish Air Corps.
Donaldson, who was jailed without trial in the 1970s, was appointed a key administrator for Sinn Féin in Stormont after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
He was 55 when he was killed. He had operated as both an IRA member and an MI5 and PSNI informer when he died at the rural Donegal hideaway in 2006.
His death came just six months after his double-agent revelations.