Row over car sparked bomb attempt, gardaí say

AN ATTEMPTED bomb attack on a family in County Clare is thought to have stemmed from a minor row over a car, gardaí suspect.

Detectives said they did not believe the pipe bomb, which did not detonate, was linked to a gangland feud.

A man arrested on Sunday night in connection with the attack in Doonbeg, was released without charge last night. A file on the matter is being prepared for the DPP.

Gardaí said the suspect and the intended target were previously friends and were from the Fettercairn and Brookfield areas of west Tallaght in Dublin.

It is thought they fell out over a dispute regarding payment for a car.

The intended target, his partner and three children moved out of Tallaght six months ago and went to live in Doonbeg under the Rural Resettlement Scheme.

The man who was targeted yesterday confirmed to the Gerry Ryan radio show that he thought the attack was linked to a dispute.

“I think it is about a row I had, a poxy row,” he said.

He said he believed the bomb was just a warning: “If whoever planted it wanted it to go off, it would have gone off but there is no way they should have targeted my children.”

The man telephoned the show, but did not go on air or give his name.

“We are all very upset. It is terrible to think that me, my partner and all of my children could all have been killed.

“We are all in shock and my partner is even talking about leaving me over what happened.

“I have nothing if she leaves me. I am still almost in tears when I think of what could have happened.”

Senior officers are concerned that people who are not involved in organised crime had access to pipe bombs.

Garda experts are examining the sophisticated device and suspect it may be one of a batch of pipe bombs manufactured by a “master bomber” attached to the Continuity IRA.

There are reports the bomber may have manufactured around 10 devices and sold them onto criminal gangs and individuals.

Gardaí believe they have located a number of the bombs in the last two years, most recently, a month ago, in Crumlin, south Dublin.

The bomb maker, believed to be resident in Dundalk, Co Louth, has so far escaped arrest.

The target received a phone call at around 11am last Sunday and was warned there was a device planted underneath his car. Security sources said it was a “viable” bomb.

After the incident, gardaí in Tallaght arrested a local man and detained him on suspicion of possession of information in relation to the device under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. Clare Gardaí conducted the interviewing.