A former soldier has been jailed for 15 years by the Special Criminal Court for having a car bomb which was twice the size of the Omagh bomb and which was destined for England. Larry Keane (41), a father of six, of Cloney, Athy, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty to having 980 lbs of an improvised explosive mixture, a timer power unit, an electrical detonator, two improvised booster tubes and an improvised detonating cord with intent to endanger life at Dun Laoghaire port on April 2nd.
The court was told that Keane, who has no connection to any illegal organisations, was offered £2,000 to drive the car bomb to England and was paid £300 sterling in advance. He was arrested by members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit at 5.05 a.m. on April 2nd as he waited to board the HSS ferry for Wales. The court congratulated the Emergency Response Unit and said its action had saved innumerable lives. Mr Edward Comyn SC, prosecuting, said that the ERU was on surveillance duty at the port, having received information about the possible transportation of explosives. Det Insp Eamonn O' Reilly, in evidence, said the home-made explosives were packed into a silage bag which filled the boot of the stolen red BMW car Keane was driving. Keane was wearing a wig and was carrying a false passport and false driving licence when he was arrested. The port area was evacuated and the car bomb was defused by an Army explosives disposal team. Det Insp O'Reilly said Keane was paid £300 sterling in advance and was to get the balance of the £2,000 on his return from England. He said the BMW car was stolen in the Rathgar area of Dublin two weeks before it was stopped in Dun Laoghaire and had been specially adapted to carry the bomb.
The inspector said that Keane had previous convictions, including a 21/2 years' jail sentence imposed in 1995 for a serious assault. He had served in the Army from 1974 to 1980.