Rapist ‘prime suspect’ in bomb threat against Taoiseach’s Wicklow home

Convicted rapist Michael Murray has emerged as the prime suspect in phoning in the hoax bomb threat on Taoiseach Simon Harris’ home from prison.

It is understood Murray is suspected to have used another inmate’s identification number to place the call to the Samaritans from his landing in the Midlands Prison.

It’s suspected the call was made from a handset which is used by inmates for the purposes of calling permitted numbers, including the Samaritans Helpline.

Murray, who was previously convicted of making a bomb threat to the house of Justice Minister Helen McEntee from behind bars, is currently serving a 19-year-sentence in the prison for rape.

A separate bomb threat targeting Helen McEntee and phoned into the Samaritans in April is also suspected to have been made by a prisoner.

That call was traced back to an inmate serving a sentence in Wheatfield Prison.

If proven that Murray was behind the latest threat, sources say the manner in which prisoners are granted access to the Samaritan’s Helpline will have to be examined.

Gardaí have been investigating the bomb threat made against the Co. Wicklow home of Mr Harris since the incident occurred on Wednesday evening last week.

The probe is being led by the Garda Special Detective Unit, which is the State’s counter-terrorism investigative branch.

Sources said the caller made the threat to the Samaritans helpline, shortly before 6pm.

He claimed there was a bomb at Mr Harris’ family home in Wicklow.

The alarm was immediately raised and gardaí rushed to the Taoiseach’s home to carry out a search for explosive devices.

No device of any kind was found and officers believe the call was a hoax.

Mr Harris was in the Dáil at the time, but his wife and young children were at home..

Addressing the matter at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday last week, Mr Harris described the threat as unacceptable.

“I don’t really wish to comment on it other than to say obviously this is clearly unacceptable situation.

“Even the word ‘hoax’ I’m not sure is a fair word as I’ve no doubt these things are done to intimidate and upset. I have young children, I have a wife,” he said.

Such threats represented “a really unacceptable situation”, Mr Harris said, adding when people turn up outside his house it should not be described in media reports as a “protest”.

Sources said rapist Michael Murray is looking at a serious penalty if it is proven the call originated from him.

Last March, he was sentenced to an additional two years in prison for making an earlier hoax bomb threat to Ms McEntee’s home from the Midlands Prison.

Murray (54), 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 7, 2021.

The eight-day 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 the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee.

During the trial of hoax bomb caller Michael Murray, a Samaritans volunteer told the court she was left “really shook” after receiving a call saying explosives had been planted at the Minister for Justice’s family home.

The volunteer said she had been on duty on March 7, 2021 when the phone rang. She answered the phone and, after a few moments of silence, heard a male voice say: “Can you take a message?”

She told the court the caller then said: “This is the Irish National Liberation Organisation. Explosives have been planted at the home of the Minister of Justice and her family. The password is Red October. This is to do with a court case happening in Dublin tomorrow.”

A senior garda told the jury that the call was considered a criminal offence at a serious level “that might threaten the security of the State”.

Superintendent Dermot Dray said his objective was to try and establish the phone number and identity of the person who had contacted the Samaritans hotline and made the threat.

He made an application to his superior officer to find out the caller’s number and where they had called from.

He received information two days later that the call came from the Midlands Prison.

Noel Reilly, who worked in the IT department of the Irish Prison Service at the time, said the call was traced back to a number associated with Murray.

He explained that before a call can be made from within an Irish prison, prisoners must enter a number given to them to access the phone system. He said calls to the Samaritans and solicitors are not recorded.

The court heard the call to the Samaritans was traced to the extension within Murray’s cell, that his unique identification number was used and he was alone inside his cell overnight.

Mr Reilly said it was his observation that Murray made the phone call to the Samaritans at the exact time.

When interviewed by gardaí, Murray agreed to having “well-known” links to the paramilitary group named in the threat.

Video footage of his arrest and Garda interview on March 26, 2021 was played to the jury.

When asked if he had been aligned with the INLA in the past, Murray responded: “That’s well known.”

He said his issue with Ms McEntee was that “she represents a department that does not release material in a defence trial”.

He also said he had no personal problem with her, but with the department she represented.

In 2013, Murray was convicted of abducting a mother and her four-year-old son and repeatedly raping the woman for hours.

He received a sentence of 19 years’ imprisonment for this.

He was then sentenced to 16 further years in prison for a campaign of harassment and death threats directed at his victim and the prosecuting lawyers in that trial.

Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan's exclusive take on the day's news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.