A Dublin museum worker, Simon O'Donovan, 44, has been charged after Gardaí found a fully assembled bomb, a timer, a detonator and material believed to be Semtex in a car stopped near County Monaghan. The vehicle was suspected of heading into Northern Ireland for an attack. The driver, 25-year-old trainee barrister Isobella Perrie Sullivan, was arrested, claims her lawyer, and granted bail with conditions. Garda and political leaders called the seizure significant and warned dissident republicans continue to pose a security threat.
Dublin Museum Worker Charged After Semtex Bomb Found In Car Heading For Northern Ireland
Simon O'Donovan, a 44-year-old Dublin museum worker, appeared before the Special Criminal Court on Saturday - Brian Lawless/PA Wire
A Dublin museum employee has been charged after Gardaí discovered a fully assembled explosive device believed to contain Semtex in a car stopped near County Monaghan.
Simon O'Donovan, 44, who works at Collins Barracks (National Museum of Ireland), was arrested and charged with possession of an explosive substance following an intelligence-led stop on Wednesday. Officers searching the vehicle found a bag in the boot containing a completed bomb, a timer, a detonator and material believed to be Semtex.
Authorities said the device was in a condition that would have allowed it to be used and that they believed the vehicle was being driven across the border into Northern Ireland with the intention of carrying out an attack. Gardaí described the sophistication of the device and the potential damage it could have caused as shocking.
Gardaí vehicles leave after Simon O'Donovan appeared before a sitting of the Special Criminal Court in Dublin - Brian Lawless/PA Wire
The driver, Isobella Perrie Sullivan, 25, a trainee barrister from County Kildare, was also arrested and charged with possession of explosives. Her solicitor, Gavin Booth, told Trim District Court that Ms Sullivan had been asked to transport a bag to Northern Ireland and was unaware of its contents. Mr Booth said his client had been "manipulated" and that her parents were "devastated." She was granted bail on condition she surrender her passport and comply with a curfew.
Mr O'Donovan appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin on Saturday.
Official Reactions
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly called the seizure "extremely significant" and "really concerning," noting a small number of dissident republicans rejected the Good Friday Agreement and did not properly decommission weapons. He said the stop was intelligence-led.
"There are a small minority of dissident republicans who did not agree with the Good Friday Agreement... this is a threat that we're going to continue to face for some time in An Garda Síochána," Mr Kelly said.
Gavin Robinson, leader of the DUP, questioned the decision to grant bail and said the discovery of a viable Semtex device underlined that dissident republican terrorism remains a lethal threat. He urged the justice system to reflect the gravity of such cases in its decisions.
Context
Northern Ireland endured decades of conflict between pro-Irish republicans and pro-UK unionists until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, which required paramilitary groups to decommission weapons. Dissident republican groups remain active but are much smaller than the Provisional IRA; they have used improvised explosive devices and mortars in past attacks. Earlier this year, police blamed dissident republicans for two attacks on police stations near Belfast; those incidents caused no casualties.
The investigation is ongoing and further legal proceedings are expected.
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