After the failure of the authorities to produce a "book of evidence" against them, the four were released. However, Breatnach, Kelly and McNally were immediately rearrested. During interrogation in Garda Síochána custody, they all signed alleged confessions.
While awaiting trial Kelly jumped bail and left the country. He was tried (in absentia) along with Breatnach and McNally before the non-jury Special Criminal Court. Medical evidence of beatings was presented to the court. The court rejected this evidence, finding that the beatings had been self-inflicted. The three were found guilty, solely on the basis of their confessions, and sentenced to between nine and 12 years' prison.
In 1980 Breatnach and McNally were acquitted on appeal on the grounds that their statements had been taken under duress. Kelly returned to Ireland shortly afterwards expecting to be acquitted. However he was incarcerated in the maximum-security Portlaoise prison and spent the next four years proclaiming his innocence, including a period on hunger strike.
After campaigns by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Amnesty International (and even a song Wicklow Boy by the popular folk singer Christy Moore) Kelly was eventually released on "humanitarian grounds" in 1984. He was given a presidential pardon in 1992 and received £750,000 in compensation.
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Last updated on Saturday March 29, 2008 at 09:49:42 PDT (GMT -0700)
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