'Extremely significant' car bomb intercepted near border by Irish police

An "extremely significant" car bomb has been intercepted by Irish police near the border with Northern Ireland.

A female driver in her 20s has been arrested after the Gardai discovered the explosive during an operation targeting "dissident republicans".

The device was found in a car travelling on the N2 south of Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, about 6.21 miles (10km) from the border with Northern Ireland.

On Friday, Irish police said the car bomb had been intercepted on Wednesday afternoon that had the potential to cause "significant damage".

A man, aged in his 40s, has also since been arrested and is being held at a Garda station in the Dublin area.

Both were arrested on suspicion of offences against the state.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said police had made an "extremely significant seizure" and indicated the bomb had already been constructed when it was seized.

"Unfortunately for operational reasons, I can't go into the exact detail of the device," he said.

"But what I will say, certainly it was a significant explosive device. So certainly not just the seizure of components or pieces.

"This was an explosive device and it would have or could have potentially caused significant damage."

Garda sources have described the bomb as "highly sophisticated" and "advanced".

Gardaí requested the assistance of the Irish Defence Forces EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team to complete an examination of the vehicle.

'Radicalised republicans'

Commissioner Kelly said pulling over of the car was "not a random stop" and had been an "intelligence-led operation".

He said there were still people who did not accept the peace treaty implemented under the Good Friday Agreement, that ended decades of sectarian conflict in Ireland known as the Troubles.

"Any seizure of this nature is really concerning," he said.

"However, we certainly know that there are a small minority of dissident republicans who did not agree with the Good Friday Agreement, they did not put weapons and explosives (out of use), they didn't, you know, go through with the proper process in relation to decommissioning. So that is something that we continue to deal with.

"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 in An Garda Síochána."

Police Service of Northern Ireland Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck said police on both sides of the Irish border shared a "joint commitment" to tackle the dissident republican terror threat.

"This underlines our joint commitment to address the threat posed by violent dissident republican groups and keep communities safe," he said.

'Deeply concerning'

The discovering has elicited concern from politicians both in Ireland and the UK.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant thanked the An Garda Síochána, Irish national police and security service, for their "quick, decisive action".

"Intercepting a dangerous device like this undoubtedly saved lives and kept communities safe on both sides of the border," he said.

"Strong cross-border security cooperation remains as vital as ever."

Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Emma Little-Pengelly said in a post on X that the incident is "deeply concerning".

Ireland's justice minister Jim O'Callaghan described the seizure as "very worrying".

"I think it is very significant," he said. "I've been updated on that by the (Garda) Commissioner. I think it evidences the fact that there is an ongoing threat in respect of dissident republican activity."

He added: "The device has been, I suppose, procured for the gardaí and has been defused. So there's lots of issues in respect of it that are concerning. But I also want to commend the gardaí for the work they did in ensuring that this didn't become a real threat to the public."

Sporadic attacks by ⁠militant groups, often attempted car bombings, ​continue in Northern Ireland almost three ​decades after the 1998 peace deal largely brought sectarian violence in the British-run region to an end.

(c) Sky News 2026: 'Extremely significant' car bomb intercepted near border by Irish police