Irish leaders have described an attempted proxy bomb attack on a police station in Northern Ireland as “appalling” and “deeply chilling”. Dissident republicans are believed to be responsible for the incident late on Monday, in which a food delivery driver was hijacked in Lurgan and forced to drive a “crude but viable” device to the town’s police station.
The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, told reporters on Wednesday that he “despaired” at the attack, calling it the product of “a very degraded mind”. He said such tactics had been “witnessed before during The Troubles” and led to “horrendous outcomes”. “It’s depressing that that type of thinking is still prevalent,” he added, offering support to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
The Tánaiste, Simon Harris, described the incident as “deeply chilling and deeply concerning”, stressing that the dark history of Northern Ireland must remain in the past. “We can never ever let our guard down,” he said. The attack has been widely condemned across the political spectrum, with police describing it as a “sad and futile” attempt by dissident republicans to “make themselves relevant” ahead of the anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising.
Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long said the PSNI takes the ongoing threat from dissident republicans seriously, noting that such groups “intend to cause harm” and that police work diligently to suppress their activities and bring those responsible to justice.
