Bomb threat man ‘making abuse claim protest’

A man threatening to blow himself up in an ongoing siege in Roscrea, Co Tipperary, is protesting over his treatment during a sexual abuse claim, a close friend said today.

Separated father of three Jim Hourigan has been holed up in his terraced home since yesterday lunchtime.

Trained Garda negotiators are in telephone contact with the former electrician, in his 50s, who claims to have his house rigged up to an elaborate home-made bomb.

Army bomb disposal experts are on stand-by and dozens of residents and traders have been evacuated from Rosemary Street and Rosemary Square where the major security alert is continuing.

Local man Sean Ryan said he has been in telephone contact twice this morning - at 9.30am and later at 10.30am - with Mr Hourigan, his friend for three years.

"He said he had the doors rigged up to the bomb. He's determined to do it,'' said Mr Ryan.

"I said to him: `For God's sake - your mother is only dead 12 months. She wouldn't want any harm coming to you.' But he said he's making a protest.

"He said to me: `I'm not a mad man. I'm trying to put a point across and if it's not published I'm going to do it and then they will publish it when it's too late.'''

Mr Hourigan claims he was sexually abused by a Christian Brother while at school in Limerick, according to Mr Ryan. He said he has been frustrated in his attempts to seek legal redress for the alleged abuse.

Mr Ryan said: "He has been to court 11 times over this. But no-one has turned up to represent him. It's been going on for 11 years."

He said the man has been in telephone contact with other friends in Limerick today about organising a protest outside a solicitor's office in the city.

Gardaí said the man had raised a number of issues of a personal nature during negotiations and they were committed to helping him as far as they could.