A 44-year-old Dublin museum employee accused of possessing a deadly Semtex explosive device has been granted conditional bail by Ireland’s High Court, following weeks of pre-trial custody. Simon O’Donovan, a 10-year veteran deputy facilities officer at Dublin’s Collins Barrack National Museum, stands charged with one count of knowingly possessing an improvised explosive device at St Laurence’s Road, Chapelizod, Dublin 10, on 22 July this year.
The arrest stemmed from a targeted operation by the Garda Special Detective Unit (SDU), which stopped a vehicle carrying O’Donovan’s co-accused, law student Isobella Perrie Sullivan, in Aclint, County Monaghan, near the Irish border, shortly after the alleged incident. Court proceedings detailed that SDU investigators tracked O’Donovan via closed-circuit television leaving his workplace at the museum carrying a distinctive holdall bag on the afternoon of 22 July. He was then seen cycling to nearby War Memorial Gardens to meet Sullivan 20 minutes later, before the pair traveled to St Laurence Road, where O’Donovan is alleged to have shown Sullivan the contents of the bag. Sullivan then drove away with the bag, which was seized by SDU officers after the stop in County Monaghan.
Forensic analysis confirmed the bag held 394 grams of military-grade Semtex, along with a fully functional timer, timing switch and viable detonator. Det Sergeant Shane Noone of the SDU told the court the completed device was capable of triggering “catastrophic damage and serious loss of life” if detonated. Noone emphasized that the explosive had been stored and transported through the national museum, a major tourist site visited by thousands of visitors annually, creating widespread risk to the public, staff and tourists, saying O’Donovan had shown “blatant disregard” for human safety.
The court also heard O’Donovan is a confirmed member of Saoradh, a dissident republican political group founded in 2016 that is publicly aligned with the New IRA, an illegal paramilitary organization. When arrested, O’Donovan claimed his detention was “harassment because I am a member of Saoradh”. Noone objected to O’Donovan’s release on bail, telling the court he retained serious concerns that O’Donovan would continue “engaging in operational activities to further the aims of the New IRA”, commit additional criminal offenses, and attempt to interfere with prosecution witnesses in the ongoing case.
O’Donovan’s legal team pushed back against the prosecution’s objections, noting that the accused had no prior history of failing to appear in court, is not considered a flight risk, and acts as the primary caregiver for his elderly, ill parents. Counsel also pointed out that O’Donovan has denied the charges against him since his interrogation, and that the prosecution had overemphasized his political affiliation while omitting this key detail. Noone conceded that there was no evidence to suggest O’Donovan would attempt to flee jurisdiction, but maintained that his political links to the dissident movement remained a relevant concern for the investigation.
After considering both sides’ arguments, Mr Justice Mícheál P. O’Higgins granted bail with a stringent set of conditions, requiring a total of €40,000 (£34,000) in secured sureties. O’Donovan must personally lodge €10,000 (£8,500), while an independent third-party surety must deposit a further €30,000 (£25,600) in a frozen bank account; the surety has not yet been finalized and will be approved at a later date by the District Court. Additional conditions require O’Donovan to surrender his passport, remain at his registered Dublin 12 address at all times unless pre-approved, adhere to a strict 10pm to 7am curfew, carry a continuously monitored mobile phone, sign in daily at his local garda station, avoid all contact direct or indirect with Saoradh members and group events, stay out of the Dublin 7 district and the Collins Barrack National Museum entirely, and have no communication with Sullivan or any other witnesses in the case.
O’Donovan will remain in custody until all required bail funds and sureties are submitted in compliance with the court’s order. He is scheduled to next appear before the non-jury Special Criminal Court, which hears terrorism-related cases in Ireland, on 5 October.