Gardaí found explosives in an apartment after three men were arrested in a car close to a railway station, the Special Criminal Court was told today.
One of the men, 22-year-old Mr Darren O'Donogh, of Glenmore Park, Muirhevnamore, Dundalk, Co Louth,was today freed on £6,300 bail despite Garda objections.
Mr O'Donogh and twins Mr Kenneth andMr Alan Patterson (31) of Griffith Parade, Finglas in Dublin were eachcharged with the unlawful possession of an explosive substance - an improvised time and power unit - at McEntee Avenue, Dundalk on Saturday.
The Patterson brothers were remanded in custody and Mr O'Donogh on bail until July 25.
Detective Supt Michael Hoare objected to bail for Mr O'Donogh and said he believed he would continue to assist and take part in the activities of the Real IRA.
He said the organisation had carried out several outrages, including the Omagh bombing in 1998, in which 29 people were killed, as well as attacks in Britain.
Mr Hoare said Mr O'Donogh was seen parking his car near the railway station in Dundalk and his two co-accused were seen getting off the train and going to his car. One of them was carrying a holdall bag and the three men were seen looking at something in the car.
Mr O'Donogh's car was signalled to stop by the gardaí about three to 400 yards from the station but he failed to do so and gardaí blocked the road and forcibly removed the three men from the car.
When the car was searched a time and power unit was found in a holdall and two balaclavas in the car. The time and power unit had two time settings, one for 60 minutes and one for 120 minutes.
Gardaí also found a number of plastic boxes with switches attached to them which could be used as incendiary devices, Mr Hoare said.
In follow-up searches at a number of addresses in Dublin gardaí found explosives and a number of time and power units similar to the one found in the car in Dundalk.
Mr Hoare said he believed the time and power unit was to be used to cause an explosion inside or outside the jurisdiction.
But Mr Justice Diarmuid O'Donovan, presiding, said Mr O'Donogh had not been charged with membership of an illegal organisation and had a constitutional right to freedom.
The court freed him on his own bond of £300 and an independent surety of £6,000 and ordered him to report three times a week to Dundalk Garda Station.
PA