James O'Donovan
Encyclopedia
Dr James O'Donovan was until his retirement in 2002, the senior forensic scientist to the Garda Technical Bureau
of the Garda Síochána (Irish police)
. He is most notable as a key witness in the Irish Republican Army
murder of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
, and as the target himself of Irish criminal Martin Cahill
.
, County Donegal
and Sligo town
on the northwest coast of Ireland. The village was only 12 miles (19.3 km) from the Northern Ireland
border and near an area known to be used as a cross-border refuge by IRA members.
Despite security advice and warnings from the Garda, on 27 August 1979, Mountbatten went lobster-potting and tuna fishing in the 30 feet (9.1 m) wooden boat, the Shadow V, which had been moored in the harbour at Mullaghmore. IRA member Thomas McMahon had slipped onto the unguarded boat that night and attached a radio-controlled fifty-pound (23 kg) bomb. When Mountbatten was aboard en route to Donegal Bay
, just a few hundred yards from the shore, the bomb was detonated. Who activated the radio-controlled bomb is not known: McMahon had been arrested earlier at a Garda checkpoint between Longford
and Granard
.
The boat was blown to pieces by the force of the blast. Mountbatten, then aged 79, was fatally wounded. He was pulled alive from the water by nearby fishermen, but died from his injuries before being brought to the shore. Mountbatten drowned while he was unconscious.
Others killed by the blast were Nicholas Knatchbull, his elder daughter's 14-year-old son; Paul Maxwell, a 15-year-old youth from County Fermanagh
who was a crew member. The Dowager Lady Brabourne
, his elder daughter's 83-year-old mother-in-law, was seriously injured in the explosion, and died from her injuries the following day.
McMahon was arrested by the Garda two hours before the bomb detonated, having been initially stopped on suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle. He was tried for the murders in the Republic of Ireland, and convicted by forensic evidence supplied by Dr O'Donovan that showed flecks of paint from the boat and traces of nitroglycerine on his clothes. McMahon was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder on 23 November 1979, but was released in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
had a bomb placed under the bonnet of the car of Dr O'Donovan, at his Belgard home. Having suffered very serious but not life threatening injuries, he was taken by ambulance to St James' Hospital, Dublin.
Suspicion of the plot immediately fell on both the IRA and the INLA, both of whom Dr O'Donovan was due to give evidence against members of in the next few weeks. However, evidence quickly pointed to an association with Cahill, and as a result the Gardi set up a Special Surveillance Unit (SSU), called the Tango Squad, to specifically target and monitor Cahill's gang on a permanent, 24/7 basis. Cahill was given the callsign Tango-1.
In February 1988, a Today Tonight
report identified Cahill as the man behind the O'Donovan bomb plot, the Beit robbery, and the robbery of O'Connors jewellery depot. Resultantly, PD leader Dessie O'Malley raised in the Dail the revelations that Cahill owned such expensive property in Cowper Downs, despite having never worked, sarcastically remarking that Cahill must have needed the extra wall space to hang his artwork by the Dutch masters.
In 1994, released on bail after the failed Lacey kidnapping, Cahill was assassinated by the IRA.
Dr O'Donovan retired in 2002.
Garda Technical Bureau
The Garda Technical Bureau is the longest established Specialist unit in An Garda Síochána. The Bureau comprises eight Sections each providing a specialist service to An Garda Síochána:#Fingerprinting#Ballistics#Photography#Mapping...
of the Garda Síochána (Irish police)
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
. He is most notable as a key witness in the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
murder of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, and as the target himself of Irish criminal Martin Cahill
Martin Cahill
Martin "The General" Cahill was a prominent Irish criminal from Dublin.Cahill generated a certain notoriety in the media, which referred to him by the sobriquet "The General". The name was also used by the media in order to discuss Cahill's activities while avoiding legal problems with libel...
.
Career
After gaining base science degrees in Ireland, and training in Ireland, London and the United States, he joined the civilian science service of the Garda Síochána.Assassination of Louis Mountbatten
Lord Mountbatten usually holidayed at his summer home in Mullaghmore, County Sligo, a small seaside village between BundoranBundoran
Bundoran is a town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in the north of Ireland. The town is located on the N15 road near Ballyshannon, 3 hours drive from Dublin and around two and a quarter hours drive from Belfast...
, County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
and Sligo town
Sligo
Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...
on the northwest coast of Ireland. The village was only 12 miles (19.3 km) from the Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
border and near an area known to be used as a cross-border refuge by IRA members.
Despite security advice and warnings from the Garda, on 27 August 1979, Mountbatten went lobster-potting and tuna fishing in the 30 feet (9.1 m) wooden boat, the Shadow V, which had been moored in the harbour at Mullaghmore. IRA member Thomas McMahon had slipped onto the unguarded boat that night and attached a radio-controlled fifty-pound (23 kg) bomb. When Mountbatten was aboard en route to Donegal Bay
Donegal Bay
Donegal Bay is an inlet in the northwest of Ireland. Three counties – Donegal to the north and west, Leitrim and Sligo to the south – have shorelines on the bay, which is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean...
, just a few hundred yards from the shore, the bomb was detonated. Who activated the radio-controlled bomb is not known: McMahon had been arrested earlier at a Garda checkpoint between Longford
Longford
Longford is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 7,622 according to the 2006 census. Approximately one third of the county's population resides in the town. Longford town is also the biggest town in the county...
and Granard
Granard
Granard is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland and has a traceable history going back to 236 A.D.. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 national secondary road and the R194 regional road...
.
The boat was blown to pieces by the force of the blast. Mountbatten, then aged 79, was fatally wounded. He was pulled alive from the water by nearby fishermen, but died from his injuries before being brought to the shore. Mountbatten drowned while he was unconscious.
Others killed by the blast were Nicholas Knatchbull, his elder daughter's 14-year-old son; Paul Maxwell, a 15-year-old youth from County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh
Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....
who was a crew member. The Dowager Lady Brabourne
Doreen Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne
Doreen Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne, CI was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, socialite and victim of the Provisional IRA.-Family life:...
, his elder daughter's 83-year-old mother-in-law, was seriously injured in the explosion, and died from her injuries the following day.
McMahon was arrested by the Garda two hours before the bomb detonated, having been initially stopped on suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle. He was tried for the murders in the Republic of Ireland, and convicted by forensic evidence supplied by Dr O'Donovan that showed flecks of paint from the boat and traces of nitroglycerine on his clothes. McMahon was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder on 23 November 1979, but was released in 1998 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
Assassination attempt by Martin Cahill
Fearing the increasing role that forensic science could play in detecting his robberies, in January 1982 Martin CahillMartin Cahill
Martin "The General" Cahill was a prominent Irish criminal from Dublin.Cahill generated a certain notoriety in the media, which referred to him by the sobriquet "The General". The name was also used by the media in order to discuss Cahill's activities while avoiding legal problems with libel...
had a bomb placed under the bonnet of the car of Dr O'Donovan, at his Belgard home. Having suffered very serious but not life threatening injuries, he was taken by ambulance to St James' Hospital, Dublin.
Suspicion of the plot immediately fell on both the IRA and the INLA, both of whom Dr O'Donovan was due to give evidence against members of in the next few weeks. However, evidence quickly pointed to an association with Cahill, and as a result the Gardi set up a Special Surveillance Unit (SSU), called the Tango Squad, to specifically target and monitor Cahill's gang on a permanent, 24/7 basis. Cahill was given the callsign Tango-1.
In February 1988, a Today Tonight
Today Tonight
Today Tonight is a controversial Australian News and Current Affairs program, produced by the Seven Network and shown weeknightly at in direct competition with rival Nine Network program A Current Affair....
report identified Cahill as the man behind the O'Donovan bomb plot, the Beit robbery, and the robbery of O'Connors jewellery depot. Resultantly, PD leader Dessie O'Malley raised in the Dail the revelations that Cahill owned such expensive property in Cowper Downs, despite having never worked, sarcastically remarking that Cahill must have needed the extra wall space to hang his artwork by the Dutch masters.
In 1994, released on bail after the failed Lacey kidnapping, Cahill was assassinated by the IRA.
Dr O'Donovan retired in 2002.