Frances Fitzgerald praise for Gardaí after bomb finds

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald yesterday praised the actions of gardaí after they confiscated two viable bombs and components parts of two other explosive devices belonging to dissident republicans.

While it is not clear if either find was part of a plot to target Prince Charles, who visits Ireland with his wife Camila next week, Ms Fitzgerald said she expected the couple to have “a very positive experience” and said gardaí were alert to any security threat.

The seizure of component parts of bombs in counties Wexford and Louth yesterday and the arrest of four men, one a suspected terror chief, was the result of a long-running garda security operation. Senior sources were reluctant to comment on whether the suspects had planned an attack on Prince Charles, but confirmed the timing of the operation was “not a coincidence”.