Senator Sharon Keogan has said that a recent bomb scare during a children’s confirmation at a Church in Navan raises questions about national security.
On Monday, Gardaí said that a person had been charged after an incident at a church in Navan, Co Meath where a woman interrupted a Confirmation ceremony to say that she wanted to speak from the altar, before adding, “I have a bomb strapped to me”.
The incident took place at a packed St. Mary’s Church in Navan as hundreds of sixth-class children from schools in the area along with their parents and sponsors were in attendance.
The children were preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation from the Bishop of Meath, Tom Deenihan.
The woman made her way up to the altar and to the microphone saying: “Can I speak?”. She then said: “I have a bomb strapped to me”.
Teachers and a priest were praised for dealing quickly with the incident, with the woman escorted from the altar.
Senator Keogan told the Seanad on Wednesday that politicians must confront “a pattern of incidents” that she said raised serious questions about public safety, national security awareness, and the State’s capacity to respond.
The Meath senator referred to the weekend’s incident in Navan.
“While the details are still emerging, the targeting of a place of worship fits into a broader and troubling pattern,” she said.
“Last year saw a knife attack on two Garda on Capel Street, with the attacker shouting, “Allahuh Akbar” and later stating in court that he was inspired by ISIS,” Keogan continued.
MAN WHO STABBED GARDA ‘HAD LOVE’ OF ISLAMIC STATE
The Special Criminal Court in Dublin heard during a sitting on Monday that an Islamic State supporter who stabbed a garda four days after setting fire to Conor McGregor’s pub in Dublin described the attacks as “a message to the Government and a message to McGregor.”
Abdullah Khan (24) has pleaded guilty to two charges of engaging in terror activity in Dublin last July as well as setting fire to the Block Forge Inn, assaulting a garda, endangerment of two Garda and production of a knife.
He said he had a “love” for the terrorist organisation and was part of a wider group of like-minded people who travelled around Europe in the days between the attacks.
Two officers, Gary Lynch and Patrick Nevin, were on foot patrol on Capel Street in Dublin 1 shortly before 7pm on the 29th July last year when Khan made his way past a group of people and ran behind the gardai, stabbing Garda Lynch in the back and striking his stab fest – while shoutint “allahu akbar” twice.
The garda suffered two knife wounds to the arm before gardai used pepper spray and batons, with the court hearing that at this point, he tried “to find a gap to stab or get in to stab them again.” He swiped at Garda Nevin but missed him.
A member of the public intervened to bring the attacker to the ground.
During a police interview, Khan admitted that he described himself as a Salafi jihadist, watched speeches by the founder of ISIS that “resonated” with him, had accessed IS material online, telling Gardai “I support them and I’ve got love for them.”
Khan later told Gardai that the stabbing and arson were committed to send “a message to the Government and a message to McGregor.”
He said he felt McGregor was “someone that has helped the far-right in this country” and that what he did was “a message for him.” As reported by the Irish Independent this week, he blamed the State for allowing the Prophet Muhammad to be insulted under freedom of speech, adding: “I believe there’s a duty on the State to denounce it.”
An independent report commissioned into Khan by Gardai found that he had been radicalised at around 18 years old and that he had “planned serious and violent activities against symbolic targets with an aim to advancing a religious cause,” the Independent reports.
UAE CANCELS FUNDING FOR STUDENTS OVER EXTREMISM CONCERNS
Independent Senator Keogan also referred to the case at the Renmore Barracks in Galway, which saw army chaplain Fr Paul Murphy stabbed seven times with a hunting life. His attacker, aged 16 at the time, had converted to Islam one year before the attack. He was jailed for eight years last May.
“The year before, an army Chaplain was stabbed in Galway by a perpetrator who also admitted being inspired by Islamic extremism. These incidents do not exist in isolation. Internationally, experts and monitors have warned of Islamic extremism networks in Ireland including the Muslim Brotherhood front organisation,” said the Senator.
Keogan also spoke of recently visiting Dubai, where she met with Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, an Emirati counter-terrorism expert. She referred to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) restricting State funding for citizens studying in the UK and Ireland due to concerns about extremism, radicalization, and the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood on British and Irish campuses.
“They have recently cut all their student grants here in Ireland with the Irish universities and asked their students from that area not to attend universities here in Ireland. Let me be clear, there is a crucial distinction between Islamism and the vast majority of Muslims who are law-abiding members of our society. That distinction must be maintained, not only because it allows us to identify genuine threats, but because confusion and ambiguity is an asset to the extremists and a danger to genuine Muslims,” she added.
“So I ask, what capacities and capabilities does the Government currently have to monitor emergency risks? How is intelligence policing being done, and how is community engagement being co-ordinated? What concrete steps are being taken now to prevent further incidents?
“This house needs a full debate on the state’s preparedness. The government must outline what additional tools and resources are required to keep people safe. Transparency and action are needed now,” the Senator said.