Courts / Longford / Report
Gardaí received bomb threats on eve of Queen's visit to Ireland, trial hears
Summary
A man charged in connection with bomb threats made to Longford garda station during a state visit by Queen Elizabeth II in May 2011 has pleaded not guilty to all charges before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin. Donal Billings, aged 65, of Drumlish, County Longford, faces one charge of unlawful possession of an explosive substance at Longford railway station car park and four charges under the Criminal Law Act of making false reports. The prosecution alleges Mr Billings made threatening calls on three separate dates claiming bombs had been placed at locations including Busáras in Dublin, Sinn Féin headquarters, Dublin Castle, and Cork airport. Evidence is expected to show that a suspect device was recovered from a bus stopped in County Kildare. The court heard that phone records and CCTV footage from a shopping centre in Longford will form part of the prosecution case. The trial, presided over by Mr Justice Tony Hunt alongside two other judges, is expected to last four weeks.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Gardaí received bomb threats on eve of Queen's visit to Ireland, trial hears. Charges or matters: each of the five charges. Procedural stage: trial
When:
- May 16th, 2011 Incident
- May 18th Hearing Or Sentence
- May 20th Incident
- May 16th Hearing Or Sentence
- 2016-10-04 Publication
Why: This is relevant, Mr Orange said, because when the accused was arrested and his car was searched gardai found a Motorola mobile phone with that IMEI number. CNI source report
Case subjects
Places mentioned
- phonecall to Longford garda station
- Longford
- on duty at Longford garda station
- to gardai at Longford garda station
- Castle and that Longford garda station
- final phonecall to Longford garda station
- used to call Longford garda station
- including Longford garda station
- Special Criminal Court
Topics
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