A 48-year-old man appeared in Dublin District Court yesterday charged with making a false statement regarding the presence of a bomb in Dublin airport on Tuesday.
John McHugh, Mountjoy Square, Dublin, was remanded in custody with consent to bail until July 12th.
Garda Chris Elliot told the court that Mr McHugh's actions caused the airport to close down for two hours on Tuesday afternoon. He was charged under Section 12 of the Criminal Act 1976 at Santry Garda station on Tuesday night. When asked by Sgt Michael Shine if he had any response, the accused said: "Not at this moment."
Gardaí objected to the accused being released solely on his own bail and asked for an independent surety given the seriousness of the charge.
Judge Leo Malone remanded him in custody to appear before Cloverhill Court on July 12th with his own bail of €500 and an independent surety of €1,000. Kieran Conway, defending, said his client had no access to an independent surety. He was yesterday granted free legal aid.
As part of his bail conditions, he must sign on at Fitzgibbon Street Garda station on a daily basis and avoid Shannon and Dublin airports on the request of gardaí. Mr McHugh, who was born in England but carries an Irish passport, is not believed to be a member of any anti-war campaigning group, according to gardaí.