Irish Republican News · November 19, 2004

Real IRA targets Belfast businesses

The Real IRA has claimed responsibility for planting a number of incendiary devices in Belfast city stores.

The breakaway group claimed the attacks in a call to a Derry newsroom using a recognised codeword.

Fire bombs were discovered tonight in the Big W store at Yorkgate in the north of the city and the Marks and Spencer store at Donegall Place in the city centre.

The Big W store had been cleared on Thursday after warnings emerged that device had been planted, but the device was only discovered today. Later, a similar device was found at Marks and Spencer.

On Wednesday, a controlled explosion was carried out on another device, located under a display unit at Noblett’s store in North Street.

Businesses in Belfast are now expecting to be targeted in the run-up to the Christmas period.

Both the Real IRA and Continuity IRA have been highly active at sensitive times during the peace process.

Two Dublin Sinn Féin members have been convicted at the Special Criminal Court on charges of membership of the Provisional IRA.

In a departure from previous practice at the non-jury court, the three judges during the trial examined secret Special Branch files on the two accused men after ruling that they were entitled to review some of the documentation which a Garda chief superintendent asserted was the basis for his opinion that they were IRA members.

The two men were remanded in custody for sentencing on November 30th.

The former leader of the republican paramilitary INLA, ‘Border Fox’ Dessie O’Hare, was released from prison on temporary release on Wednesday night.

O’Hare will return to Castlerea Prison, Co Roscommon, after his period of release ends on Sunday. It is his first unsupervised period of release, a strong indication that he is finally to be set free under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

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