A man who put an incendiary device on a Dublin-bound passenger bus and made bomb threats during the State visit of Queen Elizabeth five years ago has been jailed for eight and a half years.
Donal Billings (66), with an address at St Bridget’s Court, Drumlish, County Longford, was found guilty (GUILTY) last month by the three judge, non-jury Special Criminal Court of the unlawful possession of an explosive substance at Longford railway station car park on May 16th, 2011.
Speaking after the sentencing today, Detective Inspector Pat Finlay, of Longford garda station, said the investigation shows the challenges gardai are facing in relation to individuals intent on disrupting State visits.
Billings is further convicted of four offences under the Criminal Law Act of 1976 of knowingly making false reports tending to show that an offence had been committed.
He was found guilty (GUILTY) of 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.
He was also convicted of making a false report on May 18th that two mortars were set for Dublin Castle, and with making a false report on May 20th that two bombs had been placed in the toilets at Cork airport.
At the time, Queen Elizabeth was visiting the country.
At today’s 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”.
On May 16th, 2011, a phonecall was made to Longford garda station. The caller said there was a bomb on a Dublin-bound Corduff travel passenger bus, a second bomb on a bus at Busaras and a third bomb at Sinn Fein headquarters in Dublin.
The Corduff travel bus was stopped on Station Rd, Maynooth, and searched by gardai, who found a suspicious object, comprised of gunpowder and a two-litre bottle of petrol, in the luggage compartment.
Mr Justice Hunt said that Billings had placed a highly dangerous explosive on a public transport vehicle containing an innocent driver and many passengers.
This was an “outrageous, highly irresponsible and dangerous act”, the judge said, which “recklessly exposed passengers, staff and members of the emergency services to very significant risk of serious injury or death”.
The bomb, the judge added, was intended to give credence to further hoax calls Billings planned to make.
After finding the bomb on the Corduff bus, gardai also searched the Sinn Fein offices in Dublin and another bus. Nothing was found.
A further phonecall was made on May 18th, threatening two mortars were set at Dublin castle for 8pm that evening.
The time and place coincided with a state banquet in the castle for Queen Elizabeth.
The caller said, “I’m a member of the Republican Brotherhood, Squad A. Two mortars are set for Dublin Castle at 8pm.”
“This is for the Queen of blood and war of Iraq.”
Searches were carried out but nothing was found.
A third phonecall, made at 3.15pm on May 20th, threatened two bombs at Cork airport. Queen Elizabeth was due to fly out that afternoon from the airport. After a search, nothing was found.
The garda investigation had commenced three days earlier, focussing initially on the phone number used to make the calls.
The caller was using an 086 number, the SIM card for which, gardai discovered, was bought in an O2 shop in Longford shopping centre on May 16th.
Further information was generated through analysis of mobile phone records and CCTV of the shopping centre and Longford railway station.
The investigations led to Billings being identified as a suspect.
A surveillance operation was put in place and on May 20th, Billings was followed from his home in Drumlish to a LIDL carpark in Longford, where he was arrested.
His car was searched and a bag was found, containing the SIM card for the 086 phone number. On the packaging of the SIM card there was some handwriting, including Longford garda station’s phone number, the registration number of the Corduff bus and the Irish words “Cor dubh”.
Searching Billings, gardai found a mobile phone. During the trial the court heard evidence that the phone’s IMEI, a 15 digit unique number which is used to identify mobile devices, had been used in conjunction with the 086 number.
The phonecalls were made using a mast near Billings’ home in Drumlish.
Gardai also searched Billings’ car and found a bottle of petrol and a makeshift funnel.
Billings was interviewed at Longford garda station, where he denied any involvement in the explosives or the phonecalls.
During the trial he said that he had found the SIM card on the ground of the carpark just before being arrested.
Referring to this evidence, Mr Justice Hunt said that the “lies told by the accused were rather obvious and unsophisticated”.
Billings has two previous convictions, from Northern Ireland in 1973, for possession of explosives.
Mitigating factors, Mr Justice Hunt said, were his contribution to the smooth running of the trial and his age.
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 phonecalls.
The sentences are to run concurrently and were backdated to September 17th this year.
Speaking after the sentencing outside the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin, Detective Inspector Finlay said, “This investigation highlights the challenges that an Garda Siochana is facing, and particularly in relation to this one, when you had an individual who was capable and intent on causing disruption to a State visit.”
