A 25-year-old law student in Ireland has been accused of transporting an explosive device for a separatist Irish terrorist organization ahead of a planned attack in Northern Ireland. Isobella Perrie Sullivan was arrested near the border last Wednesday in an intelligence-led operation in which her car was stopped and a device that police described as "extremely significant" was discovered inside. It was the most notable interception since the separatist organization resumed its activities this year with two attacks on police stations in Northern Ireland.
The vehicle was stopped on the main road from Dublin to Derry. A bag on the back seat contained 394 grams (13.9 ounces) of powerful, military-grade Semtex plastic explosive, a detonator and an improvised timing and activation mechanism. An Irish Army bomb disposal team determined that the device was ready for use. The court was told it could have caused "catastrophic damage to property and loss of life."
The 1998 Good Friday Agreement ended decades of bloodshed between Northern Ireland's communities. The Irish Republican Army, the Catholic paramilitary organization that waged an armed campaign, including terrorist attacks, in pursuit of a united Ireland, laid down its weapons in 2005. A republican minority rejected the agreement, however, and several separatist groups merged in 2012 to form what became known as the New IRA, drawing inspiration from organizations that had previously operated under the IRA name.
In March, two masked men, one armed with a handgun, abducted a delivery driver, placed a bomb in the trunk of his car and forced him to drive it to the police station in the town of Lurgan. The driver escaped from the vehicle and alerted security personnel, and the bomb did not explode. A month later, another delivery driver was abducted in west Belfast and sent to the police station in Dunmurry, where the vehicle exploded without causing any casualties. Statements claiming responsibility in the name of the New IRA were issued after both incidents.
According to reports in Ireland, the bomb found in Perrie Sullivan's car was being transported to Derry, Northern Ireland's second-largest city, located near the border. Since the late 1960s, the city has been a focal point of the conflict between Catholic nationalists, who seek unification with the Republic of Ireland, and Protestant unionists, who support remaining part of the United Kingdom. In 1972, British paratroopers shot and killed 13 demonstrators there in an incident that became known as Bloody Sunday. The two communities have also fought over the city's name: Nationalists call it Derry, while unionists call it Londonderry.
Perrie Sullivan appeared in court over the weekend and was charged with possession of explosives. Police opposed her release on bail because of the seriousness of the offense, but the judge granted the defense's request and imposed a series of conditions: a surety of €15,000, the surrender of her passport, a nighttime curfew, daily reporting to a police station and a prohibition on any contact with the New IRA or the far-left separatist party Saoradh. She remained in custody until the bail arrangements could be completed.
On Monday, Perrie Sullivan appeared by video from a women's prison in Dublin, but the person who was to serve as her surety was not approved by the court. "I thought I was getting bail today," she was quoted as telling the judge during the hearing. The hearing concerning the surety was postponed until Tuesday.
Isobella Perrie Sullivan/ Ní Shúileabhán speaking at Saoradh event outside the GPO.
With hundreds of Gardai looking on...... https://t.co/8vHCDhMEk5 pic.twitter.com/DP6e8gwq5Q
— The Irish Politics Newsletter (@IrishPoliticsNL) July 27, 2026
Perrie Sullivan, who lives with her father in County Kildare, southwest of Dublin, is a law student. Her attorney told the court that she had been asked to take a bag to Northern Ireland and did not know what was inside it, adding that she had been "manipulated." Police, however, told the court they believed Perrie Sullivan knew exactly what the bag contained and where it was intended to go.
Saoradh is a far-left Irish separatist party that rejects the Good Friday Agreement. The Police Service of Northern Ireland and commentators identify it as the New IRA's political wing, an allegation the party denies. According to reports in Irish media, Perrie Sullivan read the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic at a Saoradh rally in Dublin in 2024 marking the anniversary of the Easter Rising. In the party's report on the event, she was identified by a pseudonym.
On Oct. 7, the party issued a statement praising the "Palestinian resistance" for the attack on Israel. It has since published statements supporting Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Its activists participate in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, carrying flags and signs associated with the Popular Front.
Simon O'Donovan, 44, of Dublin, was also arrested in the case and charged with possession of explosives. According to the charge sheet, he stored the device at his workplace, the National Museum of Ireland. The Special Criminal Court, a three-judge court that hears terrorism and organized-crime cases without a jury, rejected his request for bail after police argued that he would continue working on behalf of the New IRA if released.
