Leading loyalist jailed after being caught with firearms and ammunition in his car
Leading loyalist Winston Irvine, who was caught by police with firearms and ammunition in the boot of his car, has been handed a 2½ year sentence at Belfast Crown Court.
Irvine will serve half of the 30 month-sentence in jail and the other half on licence.
He avoided a statutory five-year sentence on several of the charges he faced after judge Gordon Kerr KC ruled there were 'exceptional circumstances' in his case, namely the Irvine's 'work for peace and his charity work in the community'.
Irvine's co-accused in the case, Robin Workman, was handed the statutory five-year sentence by the judge. He will serve half of that term in prison.
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Irvine (49), of Ballysillan Road in north Belfast, and Workman, (54), of Shore Road, Larne, Co Antrim had both previously admitted possession of a firearm and ammunition in suspicious circumstances.
They also admitted two counts of possessing a handgun without a certificate, one count of possessing ammunition without a certificate, possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing a firearm without a certificate.
Workman further pleaded guilty to possessing a .177 calibre air rifle without holding a firearm certificate.
The offences were committed on June 8th, 2022 when Workman transported a quantity of weapons and ammunition to the Glencairn area of Belfast in his van, which were then put into the boot of Irvine's Volkswagen Tiguan car.
A short time later Irvine's vehicle was stopped by the Police Service of Northern Ireland on Disraeli Street. - PA
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Irish Times
a day ago
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READ MORE 'We went to Hillsborough yesterday for a picnic, with her [favourite] chocolate cake, and there were purple rhododendrons and purple flowers absolutely everywhere, and it was almost like this display had been put on for her birthday. 'She might not be standing physically beside me, but my universe is still filled with Nóra, constantly.' In August 2019, the family was waking up on the first morning of their holiday at a rainforest resort in Malaysia when Sébastien discovered Nóra was missing. Her body was found more than a week later in a deep ravine 3km away. Her family has always believed she was abducted, as she would not have been physically capable of opening or climbing out of the window in their apartment, and in any case never left the safety of her family. They have been strongly critical of the Malaysian police's investigation. 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She should be here.' Nóra was born with holoprosencephaly, a genetic brain condition that affected her physical and mental development. She, I think, just by virtue of who she is and who she was, just reminds people of what really matters in life — Meabh Quoirin She spent the first month of her life in hospital with breathing difficulties, had limited motor skills and cognitively 'it's not really comparable, but if you could compare, [was] more like a five- or six-year-old than a 15-year-old. 'She did instinctively realise she had a lot of limitations, and I think she felt anxious when she didn't feel safe ... but because we were determined to treat her like we would treat any other child and live our lives normally and just be, she learned to just be.' Nóra's favourite phrase was ''Mummy, what's the plan?''. Best of all was 'the travelling plan', says Meabh. 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I have zero faith in Malaysia ever paying attention to Nóra's case again — Meabh Quoirin 'Aisling decided she was going to bring this somehow, somewhere to Ireland.' The performance took place in Belfast last weekend. 'It couldn't have been more special, to be doing it the night before Nóra turned 21,' says Meabh. In such moments, she explains, 'I'm just in my own head with Nóra and she holds my hand and we do it together. 'I'm just in my space with Nóra, and she never lets me down. 'But then afterwards, you look up and you see all these people, and you realise that you've touched people's lives, and you've allowed them to grieve, and you've given them a hint of what one little girl can do, and how much love it can bring into anyone's life, into so many people's lives, and I think that's what we're here to do. 'She, I think, just by virtue of who she is and who she was, just reminds people of what really matters in life.' 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