Two men, aged 50 and 33 years, have been remanded in custody for a further month following their appearance before Cashel District Court yesterday, both charged with possession of two fragmentation grenades[A] and a hand gun. Both men had been brought initially before Cashel District Court charged with these offences on Sunday November 12th last, and had been remanded in custody to yesterdays Cashel District court sitting.
Mr Thomas Bates of Abbey Street, Cahir, Co. Tipperary and Mr Nigel Gartland of No. 4 Knocklofty Heights, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, both appeared before Mr Justice Terence Finn charged with conspiring with each other to have in their possession a ‘Glock’ semi-automatic pistol in the district court area of Cashel, between October 24th, 2017 and November 10th, 2017, contrary to the 1964 Firearms Act.
Both the above named were also charged with conspiring together to have in their possession or under their control two fragmentation grenades contrary to the 1883 Explosive Substances Act, in the district court area of Cashel, between the same dates.
The State sought to further remand the two men in custody, pending the submission of a file on this case to the Director of Public Prosecutions and to this end sought a further two week adjournment.
Mr Justice Finn remanded both men in custody to appear before Cashel District Court again on December 14th 2017.
[A] Fragmentation Grenade:
The “Mills Bomb” is regarded as the first “safe grenade” and was the first modern fragmentation explosive to come into use in the trenches during WWI. Manufactured in Birmingham, England in 1915; they were an explosive-filled steel canisters with a deeply notched exterior surface thus aiding fragmentation. However this design was later improved by putting the exterior notches on the interior, thus increasing the grenade’s deadliness.
The external segmentation design resembles the surface of a pineapple (hence the description “pin-and-pineapple” design), was retained for many years afterwards, since it provided a positive gripping surface for soldiers, and is retained in use today in some modern hand throwing grenades.
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