Terror Returns to Ireland: 25-Year-Old Student Accused of Smuggling Explosive Device

A 25-year-old law student is accused in Ireland of transporting an explosive device for a dissident Irish terrorist organization in preparation for an attack planned in Northern Ireland. Isobel Perry Sullivan was arrested last Wednesday near the border during an intelligence operation in which her vehicle was stopped and an explosive device was found, which police sources described as "extremely significant." This is the most prominent prevention since the dissident organization resumed its activities this year with two attacks on police stations in Northern Ireland.

The vehicle was stopped on the main road from Dublin to Derry. In a bag in the back seat, 394 grams of high-powered Semtex-type plastic explosive, a detonator, and an improvised timing mechanism were found. The Irish Army's bomb disposal unit determined the device was ready for use, and it was stated in court that it could have caused "catastrophic damage to property and loss of life."

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement ended decades of bloodshed in Northern Ireland, and the IRA laid down its arms in 2005. However, a republican minority rejected the agreement, and in 2012 several dissident groups united into an organization called the New IRA.

Last March, two masked men kidnapped a delivery driver and forced him to transport a device to a police station in Lurgan. A month later, another driver was kidnapped in West Belfast, and the vehicle exploded without casualties. In both cases, the New IRA claimed responsibility.

The device was reportedly heading to Derry, a city long at the center of the conflict between nationalists and unionists. At the end of the week, Perry Sullivan was charged with possession of explosives. Despite police opposition, the judge granted bail under strict conditions, including a ban on contact with the New IRA or the Saoradh party.

Yesterday, she appeared via video link, but the bail hearing was postponed until today. Her attorney argued she was "manipulated" into carrying the bag, while police maintain she was fully aware of its purpose. The Saoradh party, identified by experts as the political wing of the New IRA, has previously expressed support for Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Also arrested in the case was 44-year-old Simon O'Donovan, accused of storing the device at the National Museum of Ireland, where he worked. A special court rejected his request for bail.