A Dublin businessman told the Special Criminal Court yesterday that two men who claimed they were in the Continuity IRA demanded €50,000 to allow him to open a lap-dancing club in Temple Bar.
Mr David Mooney, who is now in the Witness Protection Programme, said that he paid the two men €15,000 when his club "Bunnys" opened in Crown Alley, in May last year.
Mr Mooney identified the two men in court as Mr Martin Kelly and Mr William Clare, the two accused.
Mr Martin Kelly (46), a former Irish soldier, of Westpark, Artane and Mr William Clare (35), of Adare Park, Coolock have denied membership of an illegal organisation styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Óglaigh na hÉireann, otherwise the IRA, on July 29th, 2002.
Mr Mooney (36) told the court that he had worked in the bar business in New York, Denmark, Germany and Jersey. He returned to Ireland in 2000 or 2001 and decided to set up a lap-dancing club. He found a number of business partners and they identified a premises in Crown Alley as a suitable place for the club.
They all went to Doran's Bar and he and Billy went to one side. Billy told him there were certain people in Dublin who did not want him to open the club.
Billy told him he had to give a donation to an organisation, and when he asked him which organisation, Billy told him: "It's the Continuity IRA." When asked what would happen if he did not donate the money, Mr Mooney said he was told: "My dancers would be hurt, my girlfriend would be hurt and the premises would be petrol-bombed."
When he told Billy that he did not have €50,000, Billy said he had to make a phone call to Derry and Belfast and he went off.
When he came back, he told him that €25,000 would be a once-off payment. Asked by prosecuting counsel Mr George Birmingham SC how he was feeling during this conversation, Mr Mooney replied: "Not great. It was very nerve-racking. Even though you are 6 feet, 7 inches yourself, you have somebody opposite you from the Continuity IRA." Mr Mooney said that he arranged to make three separate payments of €5,000 while one of his partners would pay €10,000. He met Billy in the alcove at the Central Bank near Crown Alley and handed him an envelope with €5,000 in cash.
Two days later, he again went to the same location and handed Martin who was with Billy another envelope with €5,000 and then handed over another €5,000 the following Wednesday.
Cross examined by Mr Peter Finlay SC, for Kelly, Mr Mooney agreed that he had passed himself off as a garda to get car insurance. Mr Mooney denied that he had a problem with cocaine addiction and denied that he had assaulted one of the dancers at the club.
Earlier opening the prosecution case, Mr George Birmingham SC said that the court would hear the opinion of the head of the Special Branch, Det Chief Supt Philip Kelly that the two men were members of an illegal organisation.
The trial continues today.