The Five Demands

Marian Price on trial over Massereene (UTV)

Former Old Bailey bomber Marian McGlinchey has gone on trial in Belfast on a charge linked to the dissident terrorist attack on the Massereene Army Barracks which claimed the lives of two soldiers.
Marian Price on trial over Massereene
Two soldiers were killed at Massereene in 2009. (© UTV)

The Crown Court heard on Tuesday that the 59-year old, also known as Marian Price, has links to “dissident republican activity” and denies providing property for the purposes of terrorism – namely purchasing a mobile telephone which was subsequently used in a number of calls claiming responsibility for the Real IRA gun attack.

Two soldiers – Sappers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar- were gunned down as they collected a pizza delivery at the front of the Co Antrim barracks on 7 March, 2009.

The pizza delivery man was also wounded in the attack.

Two men accused of the murders were subsequently tried and acquitted.

Prosecutor Tessa Kitson told the court that the day after the fatal attack, an unknown male made a number of telephone calls to media outlets, including UTV as well as the Samaritans, claiming responsibility for the attack on behalf of the Real IRA.

Ms Kitson said that on 8 March, 2009 a woman was caught on CCTV purchasing the pay-as-you-go mobile from the Tesco store in Newtownabbey, adding it was the Crown’s case that the woman seen purchasing the phone was McGlinchey.

The court heard that the phone was first used to take responsibility one hour and five minutes after it was bought.

The prosecution claimed it had been purchased “solely” for this purpose.

McGlinchey, from Stockman’s Avenue in Belfast, was questioned about the purchase of the mobile phone in November of that year.

Ms Kitson said the accused “declined to make any comment in relation to these circumstances and she didn’t identify the person or persons to whom she must have passed this telephone to.”

She also told Judge Gordon Kerr QC that given McGlinchey’s “background and involvement in dissident republican activity”, it was unlikely she was unaware that the phone would be used to “promote the objectives and aims of a terrorist organisation, in that it would be used to claim responsibility for a terrorist attack.”

She also said the timing of the events were important in the case against the accused, saying the phone was purchased the day after the attack and the first call was made just 24 minutes after the phone was topped up with credit.

Ms Kitson added that no other calls were made to or from the phone, other than those claiming responsibility.

The prosecutor said that despite various police interviews, McGlinchey has never given any reason for the purchase of the phone.

The case continues.