Louth man acquitted of having two pipe bombs in garden shed
A 47-year-old man accused of having two pipe bombs and a large quantity of ammunition in a garden shed at his house has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
A jury at Dundalk Circuit Court took over an hour to return unanimous “not guilty” verdicts on all charges. It was the second retrial in the case.
Stephen Donnelly, Congress Avenue and Rosevale, Drogheda, was charged with possession of two pipe bombs at Rosevale on April 22, 2021.
He was further accused of having 169 rounds of 12-gauge shotgun cartridges, 36 long rifle rounds, shotgun pellets and shotgun propellent flakes.
Evidence was given that gardaí found the viable pipe bombs and ammunition in a garden shed at the rear of the four-bed semi-detached house which Mr Donnelly was renting near McBride Railway Station.
They had entered through the unlocked front door of the house at 10.20pm and met the accused and another man who was staying there.
The Army Bomb Disposal Unit made the devices safe in the early hours of the following morning.
The jury heard that a balaclava found within the same bag that contained the pipe bombs bore Stephen Donnelly’s DNA.
In a series of garda interviews following his arrest the defendant said that he didn’t go out the back of the house, only to feed his dog. Neither did he go into the shed.
He told investigators of other people who used to live there.
"I don’t know why the house was searched. You tell me,” he said.
Mr Donnelly denied knowing that the bombs and ammunition were there.
Asked about the situation that had him in custody, he replied: “I’m disgusted. I’m in total shock.”
He denied the black sports bag was his. He couldn’t say that he saw it before. He hadn’t been in the shed for two or three years.
He said a former resident of the house who had passed away had been “rambling on” about pipe bombs. The defendant continued that he saw on the TV show “Love Hate” what a pipe bomb consisted of.
He had never been asked to hold a pipe bomb.
"It looks bad for me, obviously. I didn’t know that they were there.”
Addressing the jury, prosecuting counsel Steven Dixon BL said that gardaí found a bag containing two pipe bombs and ammunition. There was more ammunition in other bags. The balaclava was found in the bag beside the pipe bombs.
The accused hinted at blaming a man who had died 15 months previously, while there was a path from the house to the shed and his dog lived in the back garden.
Defence counsel Paul Green SC, with barrister Donough McDonough, instructed by solicitor Ruairí Moore, said that the house could be accessed with ease, while the shed was not secured.
His client was out of the house at work (in Orange Skip Hire) where he might wear a face mask.
There was also DNA on the balaclava from somebody else and none on the other items.
Mr Green contended that the prosecution’s “trump card” was a movable item.
The DNA was being used to “fix” Mr Donnelly into guilt for stuff in other bags.
"The prosecution begs more questions than answers,” he said.
Following its deliberations, the jury returned unanimous “not guilty” verdicts.