A man accused of phoning in a bomb threat to the house of Minister Helen McEntee has been found guilty.
Michael Murray (52), formerly of Seafield Road, Killiney, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to one count of knowingly making a false report giving rise to apprehension for the safety of someone while he was imprisoned in the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise on March 7th, 2021.
The eight-day trial heard that an anonymous caller phoned the Samaritans claiming to be from the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) and said explosives had been planted at the home of Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.
When Sergeant Paul McGarry – a supervisor at the Eastern Regional Communications unit at the time – was informed, he contacted gardaí in Navan, where Ms McEntee lived at the time. He said he was “acutely aware” that Ms McEntee was pregnant at the time and he did not want to cause her undue stress.
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Gardaí from Navan were sent to the Minister’s house to look for suspicious devices or anything that stood out.
Sgt McGarry said he received a phone call at 10pm saying everything appeared to be in order and that no suspect devices had been found. Gardaí also examined the Department of Justice for any suspect devices in the vicinity and nothing untoward was recovered.
When interviewed by gardaí, Murray agreed to having “well-known” links to the paramilitary group named in the threat.
Video footage of his arrest and garda interview on March 26th, 2021 was played to the jury. When asked if he had been aligned with the INLA in the past, Murray responded: “That’s well known.”
He said his issue with Ms McEntee was that “she represents a department that does not release material in a defence trial”. He also said he had no personal problem with her, but with the department she represented.
When gardaí asked him if he rang the Samaritans and phoned in the bomb threat, the interview footage showed him laughing and responding: “Oh man, are you serious?” He denied the allegations.
The jury in the trial returned the verdict on Friday after five hours and 10 minutes of deliberation.
Murray made no reaction as the verdict was handed down in court.
He has previous convictions for rape, false imprisonment, sexual assault, child abduction, threats to kill, harassment, theft and armed robbery.
In 2013, Murray was convicted of abducting a mother and her four-year-old son and repeatedly raping the woman for hours. He received a sentence of 19 years in prison.
He was then sentenced to 16 further years in prison for a campaign of harassment and death threats directed at his victim and the prosecuting lawyers in that trial – with the judge calling his actions an “unprecedented and deliberate” abuse of process.
During his sentence hearing for those charges, he threw a bible at the judge. The judge described his actions as “a fundamental attack on our system of justice”.
Judge Patricia Ryan adjourned the matter for sentencing next Friday and remanded Murray in continuing custody.
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