A Kerry registered firearms dealer has had his conviction for importing and possessing a prohibited component for a WW2-era machine gun at Dublin Airport overturned on appeal.
Judge James O’Donoghue said he was satisfied that Patrick O’Mahony Jnr (56) had no “nefarious intent” in possessing the component.
Defence counsel for Mr O’Mahony Jnr told the District Court Appeals Court that his client had a ‘family linkage” to the weapon related to the component and that he bought it as a curiosity to put in a glass case.
He argued that the component would come under an exception in the Firearms Act which applies to antique firearms which are used as a “curiosity or ornament”.
Mr O’Mahony Jnr, with an address at Castlemaine, Co Kerry, was convicted in the District Court of importing into the state a prohibited firearm, a bolt carrier for a Browning 1919 machine gun (7.62 x 51 calibre), contrary to section 2c(2)(d) of the Firearms Act 1925.
He was also convicted of possessing or carrying the same prohibited firearm under the same act. He was fined €2,000 and a destruction order was made. He later lodged an appeal against his conviction.
A customs officer told the court that he stopped Mr O’Mahony Jnr in Terminal 2 of Dublin Airport on November 28, 2021. He said that he searched his bag and observed various packages, including the part of a firearm.
He said that Mr O’Mahony Jnr told him he had been at a gun show in the United States.
A garda told the court that enquiries were carried out and they confirmed that Mr O’Mahony Jnr was a restricted firearms dealer who had previously applied for licences.
She said that she was involved in a search at the premises and firing range that the defendant operates, but that no items were seized in the course of that search.
Defence counsel said that Mr O’Mahony Jnr’s licences have been renewed on two separate occasions and that his licence is valid until 2028.
Another garda said that, when asked in an interview if the item was restricted, Mr O’Mahony Jnr answered “it would be yes”. When asked if he had a licence for it, Mr O’Mahony Jnr said: “No”.
He told gardai that he bought the component as a collector’s item to put in a glass case as a curiosity.
A garda ballistics expert told the court that the bolt carrier was a component part of a firearm and therefore prohibited under the legislation.
She said that the component would have been produced after 1945 and can be used in a functioning firearm. She said there was no determination of what an antique is, but that it would be considered a modern firearm.
Defence counsel said that he intended to call a witness who would say that the item is a bolt and not a bolt carrier. The witness replied that she disagreed and that a bolt would also be considered a component part.
Defence counsel said that his client has a “family linkage” to the weapon related to the component.
He said that there was no evidence from the prosecution in relation to the reason that his client brought the item into the country.
Counsel for the prosecution said that Mr O’Mahony Jnr first accepted that it was a restricted item and that he had no licence for it.
He said that it was the prosecution’s case that the bolt carrier was not a curiosity.
Judge O’Donoghue said that there was no evidence of any other motive and that there was no evidence to lend weight to the argument that the item wasn’t a curiosity.
The judge said that it seemed to him, given the explanation of his history, that there was no weight given by the prosecution to any alleged nefarious purpose and that he would allow the appeal.
He said that this decision was on the basis that Mr O’Mahony Jnr is a legitimate operator who had said in the statement which he gave at Dublin Airport that he had a curiosity for guns and that he was importing them for that reason.
The judge said he was satisfied that Mr O’Mahony Jnr didn’t have any nefarious intent. The appeal was allowed and the conviction was overturned.