Monday, June 29, 2009

Pair released without charge in Ennis grenade attack case

Two men who were being questioned in connection with a failed grenade attack on the home of a settled Traveller family in Ennis this month have been released without charge by Clare Gardai.

The men, aged 26 and 30, were arrested in Ennis on Wednesday morning and detained at Shannon and Ennis Garda stations under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. Pat Flynn reports in the Irish Times that GardaĆ­ secured an extension to the men’s detention at a special sitting of Ennis District Court on Thursday night. They were questioned further on Friday, before being released without charge on Saturday. GardaĆ­ are expected to prepare a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The arrests were made as part of an extensive Garda investigation into an incident in Ennis on June 13th during which a live hand grenade was thrown into a home on Childers Road in the early hours of the morning while a couple in their 30s slept in the house with their six children aged between 15 months and seven years. The family had a lucky escape when the device failed to detonate.