Nine arrested for suspected membership of Real IRA

Nine suspected members of the Real IRA were being held by gardaí in Limerick last night following early morning raids in the city and county that involved more than 50 gardaí.

Chief Supt David Sheahan, head of the Limerick Garda Division, said: “This operation is our response to dissident [republican] activities in Limerick city and county.”

The nine men are being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act on suspicion of being members of the RIRA.

The operation was part of the response to the paramilitary display last month at the funeral of Dublin criminal Alan Ryan, leader of the RIRA in North Dublin.

Mourners included a contingent from Limerick.

The suspects are being held at Henry St, Roxboro Rd, Newcastle West, and Askeaton stations. Their ages range from 34 to 66.

Armed detectives from crime offices in the city and county, along with the divisional search team, took part in the raids in St Mary’s Park and Moyross in the city and Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West in the county.

Chief Supt Sheahan said: “This was a very significant operation given its scale and the number of people arrested.”

He said that while no guns, explosives, or ammunition were found, a significant amount of literature was discovered.

The arrests are not linked to the pipe bombs recently discovered in Donoughmore on the outskirts of the city.