Bunker in Laois may have contained 60 kg of Semtex

UP TO 60 kilograms of Semtex are believed to have been found in the IRA bomb factory and bunker discovered by gardai near Clonaslee…

UP TO 60 kilograms of Semtex are believed to have been found in the IRA bomb factory and bunker discovered by gardai near Clonaslee, Co Laois, on Thursday.

Gardai from the Crime and Security Branch and armed members of the Emergency Response Unit finished examining the farmhouse and buildings on Saturday.

The Semtex, along with homemade explosive, mortars, detonators, electrical bomb components and firearms, was removed for forensic examination. Gardai will decide this morning whether to put the cache on display for the media.

In April, the IRA planted less than 15 kg of Semtex on HammersmithBridge in London. The bomb failed to detonate but an explosives expert said the bomb would have brought the bridge down.

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Three Dublin men were charged on Friday night with having 16 improvised mortar bombs containing Semtex at the farmhouse last Thursday. A fourth man from Co Laois was charged with having 30 kg of Semtex with intent to endanger life on the same date.

Meanwhile, gardai have lifted the security operation on an industrial unit in west Dublin. No arms or explosives were found at the unit in the Ballymount Industrial Estate, which was sealed off on Thursday night.

The four men charged were among eight people arrested since Thursday's find. The remaining four have been released without charge.

Gardai investigating the murder of Det Garda Jerry McCabe have released without charge the person arrested on Friday. That arrest brought to 21 the number of people questioned about the murder on June 7th. Gardai have questioned 14 men and seven women so far. Three men have been charged with IRA membership and possession of ammunition.

Catherine Cleary

Catherine Cleary

Catherine Cleary, a contributor to The Irish Times, is a founder of Pocket Forests