A resident of Dublin is set to face trial over allegations of executing a hoax bomb threat from jail towards Government Buildings and the Oireachtas. The accused, Michael Murray, 53, currently residing in Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, is being prosecuted on two counts under the Criminal Law Act, 1976, Section 12 (a).
The false alarm which threatened the safety of people and property was ostensibly deployed by the defendant on July 3rd and 4th, 2023. These claims are vehemently denied by Mr. Murray, who recently stood before Judge Michael Connellan in the Dublin District Court on a Friday, where a book of evidence was presented to him by the police force.
In the courtroom, Det Joseph Heaphy revealed that the Director of Public Prosecutions ordered the trial by indictment, suggesting a higher level court and wider sentencing capabilities. Judge Connellan gave a return-for-trial directive, transferring Mr. Murray’s case to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The hearing has been scheduled for October.
Legal assistance has been sanctioned to Mr. Murray. The defence counsel, Luke O’Higgins, conveyed his client’s insistence on being entirely uninvolved with the charges set forth by the court.
Previously, the court learnt that upon his charge, Mr. Murray proclaimed, “On the specified dates, I did not orchestrate any bomb strikes on Government Buildings or the Oireachtas.”