Ireland

Former IRA bomber escapes jail over false passport

Donal Gannon said he did not believe he would be allowed into the US with his own passport, an explanation gardaí said they did not find `plausible'
Donal Gannon said he did not believe he would be allowed into the US with his own passport, an explanation gardaí said they did not find `plausible' Donal Gannon said he did not believe he would be allowed into the US with his own passport, an explanation gardaí said they did not find `plausible'

A former IRA bomber, who a judge said has led "an exemplary life" since his release, was spared prison after being caught with a false passport.

Donal Gannon (59), of Shelton Drive, Drimnagh, Dublin, was caught trying to renew the passport which was in the name of a man who died in a road accident in 1986, according to RTÉ.

Considered one of the IRA's key bomb makers, he was convicted in London in 1997 of conspiracy to cause explosions and sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment, but was released three years later under the Good Friday Agreement.

Gannon was one of six men arrested in the capital in 1996 as part of an IRA effort to blow up electricity sub-stations in England to cripple the power supply in the south-east of the country.

The court heard that Gannon, now "a full supporter of the peace process", told gardaí he falsely obtained the passport because he wanted to climb a mountain in the US.

He said he did not believe he would be allowed into the country with his own passport, an explanation gardaí said they did not find "plausible".

The passport had been in operation for 10 years between 2006 and 2016 and the court heard there was no record of it having ever been used at an airport.

Gannon has nine previous convictions, including the conviction for conspiracy to cause explosions.

He has also been convicted of assaulting a garda and attempted burglary.

However, Judge Melanie Greally said since being released from custody he has led "what can only be described as an exemplary life".

She ordered him to complete 240 hours of community service within 18 months, in lieu of three years imprisonment for providing false documents during passport application and a three-year suspended sentence for `using a false instrument'.