Man charged after pipe bomb found on Ballina bus

Man charged after pipe bomb found on Ballina/Dublin bus


Anton McNulty

A LONGFORD man has been charged with the possession of the explosive device found on a Ballina to Dublin bus on the eve of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Ireland.
Donal Billings (60), of St Bridget’s Court, Drumlish, Co Longford, was charged with unlawful possession of an improvised explosive device at Longford railway station car park on May 16.
The device, believed to have been a viable pipe bomb, was found when the bus was stopped by Gardaí in Maynooth, Co Kildare, at 9.30pm on Monday evening, May 16, following an anonymous tip-off to gardaí in Longford. The Bus Éireann service was being operated by Corduff Travel from Rossport.
Up to 30 passengers had to be evacuated when the bus was stopped on the Straffan Road near the train station. The bomb which was not placed in any bag had been placed in the luggage compartment underneath the bus.
The surrounding area was sealed off and residents were warned to stay indoors. A three-mile stretch of the road was shut down as a bomb disposal team arrived at the scene at around 11.30pm. The pipe bomb, which was described as ‘viable but not primed’ was made safe at 1am before being examined by garda forensic experts.
The investigation into the pipe bomb is being carried out by gardaí based in Longford, with gardaí in Ballina helping with their enquiries.
Mr Billings was brought to a special sitting of the Special Criminal Court in Dublin on Sunday evening and was remanded in custody until Thursday. Detective Inspector Patrick Finlay gave evidence of arresting Mr Billings at Battery Road, Longford, on Sunday.
He said that after Mr Billings was cautioned, he replied: ‘Ní hea’ (No).
The discovery of the device came the evening before Queen Elizabeth II’s historic visit to the Republic of Ireland, which saw security forces on high alert. While there were some small-scale protests against the visit, the British monarch’s four-day trip passed off without any major incident.