Monahan County Bombing: Law student charged with weapons in car

A 25-year-old law student has appeared in court over a car bomb in County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland.

Isobella Perry Sullivan, of Abbeylands Park in Clane, County Kildare, was charged with possession of explosives.

She was said to be driving a car which was intercepted by gardaí (Irish police) near Carrickmacross on Wednesday.

The interception was part of an operation targeting the opposition republican movement and gardaí believed the bomb had been taken to the Northern Ireland border.

The accused appeared before a special sitting of Trim District Court in County Meath on Friday night.

A member of the Garda Special Investigation Unit told the court that the vehicle she was driving was searched and the bomb was found in a bag in the back of the car.

The official said the bomb contained what he believed to be a timer unit, explosives and Semtex – a plastic explosive marker.

He told the court that the Irish Defense Forces had been called to the scene and that the device was an improvised explosive device.

A defense barrister told the court Perry Sullivan lives with her father in County Kildare and is studying to become a barrister.

The judge said he would grant her bail if she posted a free bail of €15,000 (£12,800).

She must also surrender her passport, comply with a curfew, give gardaí her telephone number and sign in every day at a County Kildare garda station.

Perry Sullivan was remanded in custody.