Man charged with possession of Semtex near Irish boder granted bail

A Dublin museum employee charged over the seizure of a Semtex explosive device which was described as capable of causing "catastrophic damage and serious loss of life", has been granted €40,000 (£34,000) bail.

Simon O'Donovan, 44, of Sperrin Road in Dublin 12 was previously remanded in custody.

However, on Tuesday he was granted bail during a hearing at the High Court, which heard that he was a member of the dissident-aligned republican group Saoradh.

A Garda (Irish police) Special Detective Unit (SDU) officer objected to bail, voicing concerns that O'Donovan "would continue to engage in operational activities to further the aims of New IRA".

He was arrested following an SDU operation which led to a car being stopped in County Monaghan near the border in July.

O'Donovan is charged with possessing an explosive improvised device on 22 July at St Laurence's Road, Chapelizod, Dublin 10.

Mr Justice Mícheál P. O'Higgins noted that gardaí objected to bail, but granted it subject to strict conditions.

O'Donovan must lodge €10,000 (£8,500) personally and needs approval from an independent surety with €30,000 (£25,600) available, which will be frozen in their account.

The surety has yet to be confirmed and can be endorsed later in the District Court.

He has surrendered his passport and must stay at his current address, obey a 22:00 – 07:00 local time curfew, provide a contact mobile phone number on which he is available 24/7, sign-on daily at a local garda station, have no direct or indirect contact with members of the political group Saoradh, or engage in any of that movement's events.

The terms state that he must stay out of the Dublin 7 area and the Collins Barrack National Museum in the capital, and have no contact with witnesses or law student Isobella Perrie Sullivan, who is a co-accused in the case.

SDU Det Sgt Shane Noone said he remained concerned that O'Donovan would commit other offences and also interfere with witnesses in the case.

He alleged that the accused, who appeared via video link, was "captured on CCTV at 13.33 on 22 July, leaving his place of employment, Collins Barracks Museum, with a distinctive holdall bag in his possession".

The bail hearing was told O'Donovan worked at the museum for a decade and held a position of deputy facilities officer.

The det sgt maintained that the accused was "tracked" on CCTV cycling to the War Memorial Gardens and meeting his co-accused 20 minutes later.

It was alleged he was observed at St Lawrence Road showing Perrie Sullivan the contents of the bag, which she took before driving by car to Aclint south of Carrickmacross in County Monaghan, where she was stopped by members attached to the SDU.

Noone maintained that the bag that had previously been in O'Donovan's possession was in the back of the vehicle.

The court heard gardaí recovered 394 grams of military-grade Semtex, a timer, a timing switch and a viable detonator.

Noone said that on arrest the accused replied: "This is harassment because I am a member of Saoradh", which the SDU officer described as a far-left political group formed by dissident republicans in the Republic and Northern Ireland.

He added it was formed in 2016 and aligned with the New IRA.

It was accepted the accused had no warrant history for failing to appear in court.

He told the court that the device was transported to and stored at the museum, which "posed a risk to members of the public and tourists, not to mention targets".

The det sgt said O'Donovan showed "blatant disregard".

"An unintended detonation would have caused catastrophic damage and serious loss of life or serious injury," he said.

The court heard it has been confirmed that there was Semtex in the bag seized at Aclint.

Voicing concerns about witness interference, Noone said the SDU has conducted a significant investigation to date, involving numerous avenues and witnesses.

It was put to the officer by O'Donovan's barrister, that he made much of the fact that the accused was a member of a political party, suggesting he would intimidate witnesses, while omitting the detail that he denied the offence after being brought to a garda station.

The det sgt replied that his political association remained relevant.

Counsel also outlined that he was an only son, and the primary carer for elderly sick parents.

Noone conceded he had no concerns regarding a flight risk, and it was accepted that the accused is in a long-term relationship.

O'Donovan will remain in custody with consent to bail until all funds have been provided as stipulated.

He is due back before the non-jury Special Criminal Court on 5 October.