Museum employee charged after suspected car bomb intercepted near Irish border

An employee at a Dublin museum has been charged with possession of explosives after an alleged car bomb was intercepted by Irish police near the border with Northern Ireland.

Simon O'Donovan, with an address at Sperrin Road in Drimnagh, has been remanded in custody after appearing before the Special Criminal Court at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin on Saturday evening.

The 44-year-old also represented himself in a bail hearing, where his application for bail was refused.

The court was told during the hearing that O'Donovan was employed at the Collins Barracks National Museum.

He is due to appear before the Special Criminal Court again on Monday.

It comes after a 25-year-old law student was charged in relation to this investigation.

Isobella Perrie Sullivan was granted bail after appearing before a special sitting of Trim District Court in Co Meath on Friday evening. She was charged with possession of explosives.

Officers discovered the alleged bomb during an operation targeting "dissident republicans", Irish police said.

A police officer told Trim District Court that Sullivan had been stopped on the N2 at Aclint, Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, about six miles (10km) from the border with Northern Ireland.

During a search of her vehicle, a bag was found in the rear seat which was found to contain Semtex and a detonator, the court heard. Defence solicitor Gavin Booth said his client had been asked to take a bag to the north, and had not been aware what was in it.

On Friday, Irish police said the alleged car bomb, which officers said had the potential to cause "significant damage", had been intercepted on Wednesday afternoon. It is understood the device contained suspected military-grade explosives.

Sullivan and O'Donovan were arrested on suspicion of offences against the state.

'Radicalised republicans'

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said on Friday that pulling over 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, which ended decades of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles.

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"Any seizure of this nature is really concerning," the commissioner 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 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."

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