Background
The IRA was a proscribed organization under the terms of the Offences Against the State Acts in the Republic of Ireland and under equivalent anti-terrorist legislation in the United Kingdom, making membership of it a criminal offence. In the Republic, conviction for membership is possible in the Special Criminal Court, where three judges hear cases without a jury, on the evidence of a Garda superintendent or higher rank, and carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.
Read more about this topic: IRA Army Council
Famous quotes containing the word background:
“Silence is the universal refuge, the sequel to all dull discourses and all foolish acts, a balm to our every chagrin, as welcome after satiety as after disappointment; that background which the painter may not daub, be he master or bungler, and which, however awkward a figure we may have made in the foreground, remains ever our inviolable asylum, where no indignity can assail, no personality can disturb us.”
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“... every experience in life enriches one’s background and should teach valuable lessons.”
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