The car was intercepted 6.21 miles from the UK border.

12:46, Fri, Jul 24, 2026 Updated: 17:47, Fri, Jul 24, 2026

Police sign

An 'extremely significant' bomb has been intercepted in a vehicle, police said today (Image: Getty)

An “extremely significant” bomb has been intercepted in a car in transit near the Irish border, Gardaí have said. The vehicle’s female driver, aged in her 20s, was arrested at the scene and remained in Garda custody on Friday, police said.

Another suspect, a man aged in his 40s, has since been arrested and is being held at a Garda station in the Dublin area. Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly confirmed details of the operation as he spoke to the media at a Garda graduation event in Co Tipperary on Friday. In an intelligence-led swoop, members of the Garda’s Special Detective Unit stopped the vehicle travelling on the N2 south of Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, on Wednesday afternoon. Gardaí then requested the assistance of the Irish Defence Forces EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team, which completed an examination of the vehicle.

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Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly speaks to media

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly speaks to media (Image: PA)

“To be clear, what we found was an extremely significant seizure,” Commissioner Kelly said. “So this was an explosive device.”

He added: “Any seizure of this nature is really concerning. However, we certainly know that there are a small minority of dissident republicans who did not agree with the Good Friday Agreement, they did not put weapons and explosives (out of use), they didn’t, you know, go through with the proper process in relation to decommissioning.

“So that is something that we continue to deal with.

“There’s a small minority of these individuals, I would describe them as radicalised republicans, and this is a threat that we’re going to continue to face for some time in An Garda Síochána.

“We work very closely with our colleagues in PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) and the intelligence services in the UK to deal with this threat.

“But I want to commend the members of An Garda Síochána who are involved in

N2 south of Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan

The vehicle was travelling on the N2 south of Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan on Wednesday afternoon (Image: Google)

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly indicated that the bomb was already constructed when it was seized.

“Unfortunately for operational reasons, I can’t go into the exact detail of the device,” he said.

“But what I will say certainly it was a significant explosive device. So certainly not just the seizure of components or pieces.

“This was an explosive device and it would have or could have potentially caused significant damage.”

The commissioner confirmed the operation relied on intelligence. “Obviously, this was not a random stop,” he said.

“Obviously, this is an intelligence-led operation, so we certainly do have information in relation to the individuals involved. But, naturally, I can’t go into a lot of that in public.”