Carrickmacross: Police ‘intercept car with bomb on way to attack in NI’

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill posted on X that the bomb served “only a wreckers’ agenda”.

“Those responsible have no support and no vision for our island and our communities,” she wrote.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson said the incident “raises serious questions” about how the Irish government was “assessing the threat posed by dissident republican terrorism and whether the response is keeping pace with the danger”.

Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister Naomi Long, from Alliance, “unequivocally” condemned those responsible for the bomb and said there could be no justification for actions designed to endanger lives.

Ulster Unionist Party deputy leader Diana Armstrong said her party “wishes to place on record its sincere thanks and gratitude to An Garda Síochána for their professionalism and swift action in intercepting this vehicle”.

“This latest incident is a further reminder of the continued threat posed by dissident republican terrorism,” she added.

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) MP Colum Eastwood said the incident would “bring back dark memories of our past for many”.

“The SDLP has always been clear that violence of this nature is futile and achieves nothing except harming communities and tearing families apart,” he said.

Fine Gael’s David Maxwell, who represents the Cavan-Monaghan constituency, thanked gardaí for stopping the bomb from travelling across the border and the Irish Defence Forces for their “brave work in making the device safe”.

“It is disappointing that as we approach the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement that we have a small group of people who want to bring destruction and death back to this island with no mandate and no support,” Maxwell said.