Ruling on James Flynn’s bail application on Friday, Ms Justice Tara Burns said the three-judge court could not accept that the applicant was “anything but a flight risk”. The judge said the flight risk in this case was “too great” to permit bail to be granted and that the probability of fleeing the jurisdiction was “well made out”.
In April of this year, Westminster Magistrates’ Court ordered Mr Flynn’s extradition back to Ireland but this was appealed to the High Court. The appeal was dismissed in July and Mr Flynn was brought back to Ireland to be formally charged with the credit union robbery. “These are all arms of the prosecution case, it is not for this court to concern itself with whether there will be a conviction in this matter,” she said. The case against the applicant is of a “circumstantial nature” where the evidence is not viewed in isolation but “the culmination of various parts coming together”, she said.
She said Mr Flynn had not attempted to engage or cooperate with gardaí and it was probable if he got bail that he would not stand trial for these matters. “For that ground alone the court will refuse bail,” she stated. Referring to the risk of interference with witnesses, the judge said there had been “very, very concerning evidence” about the behaviour of Mr Flynn’s father during the trial of Aaron Brady.