Court outburst from father as son is charged over explosives

Colm Murphy who was found guilty but later acquitted of conspiracy to cause the Omagh bomb, shouted from the body of the special sitting of the court in Ardee as senior gardai sought to have his son Conan Murphy's length of detention extended.

The 23-year-old had been detained outside Dundalk on Saturday evening after the discovery of a device at Aghaboys, Mount Pleasant.

In the court on Monday Colm Murphy shouted that his son was now being "set up" by the gardai. He was ordered to stay quiet as the State's application was heard.

His son appeared in the Special Criminal Court in Dublin's new Criminal Courts of Justice yesterday evening, charged in connection with the discovery at Aghaboys, Mount Pleasant.

Murphy, with an address at Plaster, Mount Pleasant in Dundalk, Co Louth, was charged with the unlawful possession of explosive substances, namely an improvised trailer and two gas cylinders "adapted" to cause an explosion, on May 22 last. Thecourt remanded Murphy in custody to appear before it again next month.

A detective garda from the Special Detective Unit told Michael O'Donovan, a solicitor representing the State, that he arrested Murphy for the purposes of bringing him before a court to be charged.

He said Murphy replied "I am innocent" when the charge was then put to him.

Remanded

Murphy was represented by solicitor Michael Finucane at the court hearing and he spoke only to confirm his name.

The Special Criminal Court, remanded Murphy in custody. He will appear before the court again on June 8.

Earlier in the day Philip McKevitt (56) appeared on a charge of unlawful possession of an explosive substance, "a trailer and two gas cylinders made or adapted to cause an explosion" at the border location.

hnews@herald.ie