A car carrying a fully assembled bomb was stopped on a busy road near the Irish border on Wednesday afternoon — an intelligence-led swoop that, police say, averted an attack in Northern Ireland. The vehicle was travelling south of Carrickmacross on the N2 in County Monaghan at around 3pm when officers from the Garda’s Special Detective Unit moved in. Inside, they found an explosive device containing suspected military-grade explosives, described by Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly as an “extremely significant seizure”. Garda sources said the bomb was “highly sophisticated” and “advanced”.
Two people were arrested: the driver, a woman in her 20s, at the scene, and a man in his 40s a short time later. Both are being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, allowing questioning for up to three days. The Irish Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was called to examine the vehicle before the device was removed for forensic testing.
“Gardai intercept 'extremely significant' car bomb near Irish border; two arrested in dissident republican operation.”
Commissioner Kelly confirmed the operation was part of a long-running campaign targeting dissident republican activity. “To be clear, what we found was an extremely significant seizure,” he told reporters at a Garda graduation event in County Tipperary. He added that the bomb was “ready to use” and, gardaí believe, was being driven across the border for an attack in Northern Ireland.
No group has claimed responsibility. The arrests come after years of reduced dissident activity, raising questions about whether a new cell has become operational.