Authorities in Ireland suspect that a bomb threat against the Taoiseach, Simon Harris, and his family, may have originated from an inmate in an Irish prison. The worrying call came via the Samaritans, a support service which prisoners can utilise. Despite it being uncertain of the exact call origin, and neither the Garda nor the Irish Prison Service being able to ascertain clear details, the prime focus of the investigation is that the call was made by an inmate.
Although the investigation is still in its early days and the prisoner-call theory is a leading line of inquiry, detectives are keen on exploring other possibilities as well. The threat directed towards Mr. Harris’s residence in Co Wicklow began being investigated on Wednesday evening by the country’s counter-terrorism division, the Garda Special Detective Unit.
When the Garda arrived at Mr. Harris’s Greystones residence, no explosives were found on the premises. It’s understood that Mr. Harris was at the Dáil at the time, however, his wife and children were home and were not evacuated during the premise search.
Mr. Harris expressed the presumptive motive behind the bomb hoax was to upset and intimidate his family. As he arrived at an EU leader’s summit in Brussels on Thursday, he referred to the threat as an ‘unacceptable situation’. The Taoiseach emphasised the inappropriate use of the term ‘hoax’ as it downplays the severity of such actions that aim to intimidate and distress. He further stated his concern over the media misuse of the term ‘protest’ for individuals showing up at his residence, due to the potential threat it may pose to his family’s safety.
It is now believed that a phone call made to the Samaritans can be traced back to a prison, marking the second such incident in which a serving Cabinet member has been targeted. The Minister of Justice, Helen McEntee, and her family have been recurrent victims of threats in the past. These include hoax claims about bombs, which necessitated the evacuation of their home on multiple occasions.
Earlier this year, a man with a rape conviction was found to be behind a false bomb threat to Ms McEntee’s residence. The threat was traced to Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, where the man was serving a sentence and consequently had two more years added to his term as a result.
The man, 54-year-old Michael Murray, previously residing at Seafield Road, Killiney, Dublin, was convicted at a trial for knowingly making a fraudulent report that created fear for someone else’s safety during his time at Midlands Prison, Portlaoise. The incident occurred on 7th March 2021.
Within his phone call, he falsely claimed he was from the Irish National Liberation Army. He stated that bombs had been planted at the home of the Minister of Justice and her family, with the passcode being ‘Red October’, and tied the threat to an upcoming court case in Dublin.
Murray has a history of 40 prior convictions, including rape, sexual assault, harassment, child abduction, false imprisonment, threats to kill, burglary, and theft. In 2013, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison after being convicted for the abduction of a woman and her four-year-old son and the subsequent hours-long relentless rape of the woman.