Convicted killer Freddie Thompson has applied to have his trial for threatening to kill a prison officer moved from Portlaoise to Dublin, claiming: “If you hold it in this court, I could be shot dead getting out of the prison van.” Appearing by video-link before Portlaoise Circuit Court on Thursday, Thompson urged Judge Keenan Johnson to grant his request stating: “What you don’t want to happen is what happened in the Regency Hotel that time when my cousin David Byrne was shot dead by armed criminals dressed as police. Byrne, the brother of Dublin mob boss Liam Byrne, died when gunmen dressed as fake ERU gardai stormed the hotel in north Dublin in February 2016. “He got shot four times. He was shot twice in the head. The State can’t make that mistake again — this is my life we’re talking about,” Thompson said in court this week. Opening Thompson’s application to have the case transferred to Dublin from Portlaoise, on security grounds, Mr Patrick McCarthy BL, said the application was grounded on an affidavit within which Mr Thompson had stated his concerns for his personal safety. The affidavit outlined how in November 2016, Thompson had been charged with the murder of Daithi Douglas and then convicted in August 2018. Mr Douglas (55), a father of one, was shot six times as he had lunch at a counter in his partner’s shop, ‘Shoestown’, on Bridgefoot Street, Dublin 8, on July 1, 2016. A semi-automatic pistol with its serial number removed was found next to his head. Thompson (43) of Loreto Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, had pleaded not guilty to his involvement in the murder of Mr Douglas but was jailed for life at the Special Criminal Court in August of 2018 after a 12-day trial. “I say and believe Mr Douglas was a member of the Hutch crime family,” Thompson’s affidavit, which was heard in court this week, read. “I say and believe that because of my conviction that my life is in danger and that there is a direct threat on my life from the Hutch crime family.” The affidavit stated that the threat had been confirmed to him during his previous eight years in custody and was part of the reason given to him for his being refused a transfer from Portlaoise to Wheatfield Prison. “I have a serious concern for my personal safety should the trial proceed in Portlaoise Circuit Court,” he said. He said there was no direct access from the van for prisoners entering the court. “The van parks beside the courthouse and I must walk from the public area outside into the court,” the affidavit stated. “My concern is that should someone wish me harm, they would have no difficulty attacking me as I leave the van and walk into court.” Thompson’s affidavit compared the situation regarding prisoner access in Portlaoise to that of Dublin’s Courts of Criminal Justice which has an underground car park where prisoners enter that is not accessible to the public. He also noted that the CCJ has a machine to check bags, metal detectors and security guards to carry out checks for potentially weapons and other materials. The trial Thompson (43), formerly of Loreto Road, Maryland, Dublin, is trying to have moved concerns a charge that he threatened to kill or cause serious harm to an assistant chief officer in Portlaoise Prison on May 15, 2022. He is also accused of the same offence as well as a separate charge of assault causing harm on the same prison officer in the prison on November 17, 2022. Barrister Will Fennelly, appearing for the DPP, said he was objecting to the application on two grounds. The first that was that Thompson had previously applied to have the case moved on the grounds potential jurors might be prejudiced by the presence of the prison in the county. He said that application had been refused and so the decision not to move the trial was “final and unappealable.” After Judge Johnson held against him on this point, Mr Fennelly called Det Garda Padraic Ryan of Portlaoise Garda station to give evidence regarding security. Addressing the court at this point, Thompson said: “All I want to say is my life could be in danger if it’s held in that court. “The last time I got out of the prison van, four men came up to me, they got close up to my face with cameras. If you hold it in this court, I could be shot dead getting out of the prison van. “My life could be in danger … if you move it to Dublin, it will still go ahead, it’s just that my life won’t be in danger then.” In his evidence, Det Garda Ryan said: “There’s a security plan put in place for Mr Thompson and for his security in court. “There are armed detectives and also uniformed members of An Garda Siochana stationed around the courthouse.” He said Mr Thompson had appeared previously before the court on three occasion and “there’s never been an issue.” Asked whether he believed there was any ‘realistic risk of harm befalling’ Mr Thompson entering Portlaoise courthouse, he responded: “I wouldn’t think so, judge. The gardai in Portlaoise have a lot of experience bringing prisoners on escort to court and there has never been an issue.’ “There is a security assessment done, whatever necessary will be applied … Mr Thompson will be secured … the courthouse will be secured.” Asked by Mr McCarthy whether he would accept the Courts of Criminal Justice have by far the best security facilities of any court in the country, “he responded: “Yes … but I would say Portlaoise courthouse is more than capable of securing Mr Thompson and ensuring he is safe.”
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