Notorious rapist Michael Murray speaks out from prison cell - 'New bomb threats were not me'

Convicted rapist Michael Murray leaving Portlaoise Courthouse (file photo)

Notorious rapist Michael Murray claims he’s not behind the three recent bomb threats against the Minister for Justice.

Speaking exclusively to this paper, Murray, who was recently handed further jail time over a remarkably similar hoax bomb threat he made against Minister Helen McEntee, said he “vehemently denied” any involvement in the recent threats, and wished her no harm.

Minister McEntee’s family had to be evacuated from her home last week after two hoax bomb threats were made to the Samaritans charity – claiming they were planted at her home.

A third threat was then made to the Samaritans, again targeting the Minister, on Saturday.

The threats follow the same MO as the one made by Murray, who phoned the Samaritans and made a similar hoax threat from his cell in the Midlands Prison in March 2021.

But in a statement to us from his prison cell, Murray insisted he’s got nothing to do with these threats.

“I am vehemently denying any involvement in it nor did I organise somebody else to do it,” Murray told us.

He also added: “I have no issues with Helen McEntee.”

Murray further claims that he believes that there are “other forces” involved in the recent threats against Ms McEntee, which have been widely condemned.

Murray was just recently convicted over a threatening phone call he made from the Midlands Prison to the Samaritans – directed at the Minister.

The depraved beast (52), formerly of Seafield Road, Killiney, Dublin, had pleaded not guilty to one count of knowingly making a false report giving rise to an apprehension for the safety of someone else while he was imprisoned in the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise on March 7th, 2021.

He continues to claim he wasn’t behind the threat – despite openly admitting to us in a previous interview in August of that year that he was.

“I am admitting to it openly. I am responsible for it. I don’t give a f*ck,” Murray told us at the time.

Despite that Murray took the State through the gruelling process of an eight day trial – after pleading not guilty, despite overwhelming evidence.

His 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 Ms McEntee.

Murray took the witness stand and told the court that he did not make the bomb threat and claimed the allegation against him “does not make sense.”

He said the idea that he would call in a threat against the “most senior ranking” member of the Department of Justice from his cell while isolated and on a line that was being monitored was “absolutely ludicrous.”

“The central issue in this case is a call. I could have come in here to the jury and hid everything. I didn’t choose to do that. I consciously told the jury the truth,” Mr Murray said.

“The jury may never have known who Michael Murray was, if I wanted to go down that route. But this is about the truth of a call.

“Some people may not like Michael Murray, (but) this is not what this is about. It’s not a talent contest. This is about a threat to the security of the State. This is not a personality contest,” he said.

The court was shown videos of interviews between gardai and the accused that were conducted on March 26,2021, and in which he said a group named the ‘Criminal Revenge Group’ was behind the threat – and that he could negotiate with them for it to stop.

The accused also told gardai that it was “nothing personal” and he “wouldn’t like to see” Ms McEntee getting hurt – further claiming that the decision to make the phone call was made about a week beforehand.

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