Courts / Longford / Report
Man who put explosive on bus and made bomb threats during Queen's visit is jailed for 8.5 years
Summary
A man from Drumlish, County Longford, has been sentenced to eight and a half years imprisonment following his conviction by the Special Criminal Court on charges relating to the placement of an explosive device on a passenger bus and the making of bomb threats during Queen Elizabeth's State visit in May 2011. Donal Billings was found guilty of unlawful possession of an explosive substance at Longford railway station car park and four offences under the Criminal Law Act of 1976 involving false reports of bombs at multiple locations including Busáras, Sinn Féin headquarters, Dublin Castle, and Cork airport. A suspicious object containing gunpowder and petrol was discovered in the luggage compartment of a Dublin-bound bus. The investigation utilised mobile phone records and CCTV analysis to identify the accused. Billings maintained his innocence during trial and claimed to have found the SIM card used to make the calls. Mr Justice Tony Hunt noted the dangerous nature of the offences while acknowledging mitigating factors including the accused's age and cooperation with proceedings.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Man who put explosive on bus and made bomb threats during Queen's visit is jailed for 8.5 years. Charges or matters: making a false report within the State on May 16th, 2011, that bombs had been placed at Busáras in Dublin and at Sinn Féin's headquarters. Procedural stage: sentence. Findings: Found guilty
When:
- May 16th, 2011 Incident
- May 18th Incident
- May 20th Incident
- May 16th 2011 Other
- May 16th Other
- September 17th Incident
- 2016-12-15 Publication
Case subjects
Convicted Person
Charges: making a false report within the State on May 16th, 2011, that bombs had been placed at Busáras in Dublin and at Sinn Féin's headquarters (Proven)
Finding: Found guilty
Outcome: Found guilty; At today's sentence hearing, Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, with Judge Martin Nolan and Judge Cormac Dunne, said that Billings was "perfectly entitled to hold a low opinion" of Queen Elizabeth and her visit to Ireland but "not entitled to express such an opinion by engaging in criminality". In addition to the eight and a half year sentence for the explosives offence, Billings was sentenced to one, two, three and four years respectively for each of the threatening phone calls.
Places mentioned
- Special Criminal Court
- of Longford Garda Station
- Longford
- was made to Longford Garda Station
- including Longford Garda Station
- was interviewed at Longford Garda Station
Topics
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