Two Cavan residents received suspended sentences for assisting the Continuity IRA in an alleged attack on Enniskillen Police Station in 2021.

Desmond Smith (65), of Kilnavara Crescent, Co. Cavan, pleaded guilty to knowingly rendering assistance to an organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Óglaigh na hÉireann, otherwise the IRA, in the performance or furtherance of an unlawful object on March 18, 2021 within the State.

Stephen Hamill (52), of Willow Ridge, Gortnakesh, Co. Cavan, pleaded guilty to the same offence on March 13, 2021.

Noting that neither men had previous convictions of relevance, Mr. Justice Tony Hunt said the pair were “surprising candidates” for involvement in activity of this type.

The judge said counsel for the two men had argued specifically for non-custodial sentences.

He said given their early pleas and solemn undertakings alongside other mitigating factors, the court had concluded “on balance” that this was the route it would take in respect of both defendants.

A previous hearing was told by Detective Garda Sergeant Ronan Judge that media outlets in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland received a series of phone calls from different SIM cards claiming to be from the Continuity IRA.

The outlets to receive phone calls included The Impartial Reporter, BBC Northern Ireland, the Irish News and Northern Sound Radio Station.

A call was made to The Impartial Reporter on March 16, 2021, with the caller stating that Enniskillen Police Station was shot at on March 16, and offered a code word.

PSNI detectives searching near the station on March 17, 2021 found an improvised device, made of a telescopic pipe inserted into a wider pipe, which was activated by “smacking” the base of the device.

The court previously heard that Smith has no previous conviction, while Hamill has three for road traffic offences.

Taking to the stand, both Smith and Hamill vowed that they would “disassociate” themselves from Republican paramilitaries and criminal organisations.