Bomb-making equipment find sparked evacuation, court told

Residents at a Clondalkin apartment block were evacuated and a team from the army bomb disposal unit called in after bomb-making equipment was discovered in one of the apartments, the Special Criminal Court was told today.

Evidence was being heard in the trial of three men in their 20s accused of unlawfully possessing explosive materials at an apartment in The Crescent, Park West Pointe, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 on September 9, 2008.

Gareth Byrne (aged 27) of Park Crescent, Kimmage, Dublin 12, Cormac Fitzpatrick (aged 23) of Cathedral Walk, Monaghan, Co Monaghan and Terry McConnell (aged 28) of Tullymore Gardens, Andersontown, Belfast all deny the charge.

A Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer today told the three-judge, non-jury court that he arrived to inspect and assess the one-bedroom apartment in the early hours of September 9, 2008.

Once inside he said he found the “principle components” for the construction of improvised explosive devices.

The Ordnance Disposal officer said that among the items he observed in a brown bag in the kitchen were a number of metal pipes which were threaded on both ends, metal end caps, car bulbs, electric cable and batteries.

He told the court he also saw a cotton bag “full of what appeared to be shot gun propellant”, and a number of alarm clocks, some of which were modified “possibly to be used as a timer on a device”.

The court also heard how the Ordnance Disposal officer observed duct tape which he “had seen on occasion being used as a sealing for pipe bombs”. He said there was also some insulating tape that could be “used for holding wires or cables together”.

He said the pipes he saw were “substantial” in size, and if filled with explosive substances were capable of sending shards of metal across “a considerable area”.

The Ordnance Disposal officer told the court he spent “about 45 minutes” examining the scene before declaring it safe. He said he was satisfied there was no danger associated with the materials “as they lay”.

The court also heard evidence today from detective garda Damien Broughall who formed part of the 12-strong team of armed gardaí who carried out the raid on the apartment.

He said that on entering the apartment, he turned left where he observed two men, wearing latex gloves, standing in the bathroom.

Detective garda Broughall identified these men as two of the accused, Terry McConnell and Cormac Fitzpatrick. He told the court he observed items fall from Mr Fitzpatrick’s hand. He said these were “a small alarm clock and a battery”.

Under cross examination from Anthony Sammon, SC, counsel for Cormac Fitzpatrick, the detective garda said he “can’t say” which hand the items had dropped from.

Mr Sammon also put it to detective Broughall that while his client was lying on the bathroom floor, a towel was placed over his head and a photograph taken. Detective garda Broughall said “nothing was placed” over Mr Fitzpatrick’s head and that he didn’t see a photograph being taken.

The trial continues tomorrow.