A 25-year-old law student has been charged after a viable bomb containing military-grade explosives was intercepted by Irish police as it was being driven towards the border with Northern Ireland. Isobella Perrie Sullivan, of Abbeylands Park in Clane, County Kildare, appeared before a special sitting of Trim District Court on Friday evening charged with possession of explosives.
The court heard that Sullivan was driving a car that was stopped by members of the Garda Special Detective Unit on the N2 south of Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, on Wednesday afternoon. A bag in the rear seat was found to contain a timing power unit, a detonator, and what officers believed to be Semtex – a brand of plastic explosive. The Irish Defence Forces’ explosive ordnance disposal team was called to the scene and declared the device a viable bomb.
“A 25-year-old law student has been charged after a viable bomb containing Semtex was intercepted near the Irish border.”
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly confirmed details of the operation at a graduation event in County Tipperary on Friday. “To be clear, what we found was an extremely significant seizure,” he said. “This was an explosive device.” He added that it could have caused “significant damage” and linked the plot to dissident republicans. “There’s a small minority of these individuals, I would describe them as radicalised republicans, and this is a threat that we’re going to continue to face for some time.” Security sources said the probable intended use was as an under-car explosive for an attack in Northern Ireland.
Sullivan’s defence solicitor, Gavin Booth of Phoenix Law, told the court his client had been asked to take a bag to the north and had not been aware of what was in it. The judge granted bail under strict conditions: an independent surety of €15,000 (£12,800), surrender of her passport, a curfew from 9pm to 7am, daily sign-in at Naas Garda Station, and providing her phone number to gardaí. She was remanded in custody with a further bail hearing scheduled for Monday.
A second suspect, a man in his 40s arrested in connection with the investigation, remains detained at a Garda station in Dublin while follow-up searches are carried out.