SECURITY OPERATION:GARDAÍ HAVE arrested three suspected members of the Real IRA whom they believe were about to try to disrupt the Queen's visit to the National Stud in Co Kildare yesterday afternoon.
The three suspects were arrested in operations at 2am and 10.30am yesterday in Co Kildare.
A stolen car one of the suspects was driving was seized and two houses in Robertstown, Co Kildare, searched.
While the operation was ongoing last night, no guns or explosives had been found.
Garda sources said the men were arrested because it was feared they were planning to disrupt the Queen’s visit, possibly by using the stolen vehicle to stage a hoax car bomb.
The first suspect was detained by members of the special detective unit, which investigates terrorism.
He was arrested at about 2am just outside Clane, Co Kildare, when the stolen car he was driving was stopped.
The vehicle had been stolen in Dublin in recent days.
Gardaí then searched a number of properties in Robertstown, Co Kildare, and arrested two more men at 10.30am.
One of those arrested in Robertstown is a brother of the man detained in Clane. All three suspects are in their 30s and have addresses in Robertstown.
They are being questioned under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act at Naas Garda station.
In an unrelated operation yesterday evening, gardaí in Dublin arrested a suspected Real IRA member from the city and 11 other men as they met at Connolly Station in the north inner city.
The group was found to be carrying flares, steel balls, rocks, fireworks, bangers and bottles.
Gardaí believe they were on their way to the convention centre on nearby North Wall Quay to attack gardaí under the guise of a republican protest to the Queen’s visit.
Gardaí had sealed off the area around the centre for a music and fashion event the Queen was attending.
The men were taken to Store St Garda station and charged with a variety of public order offences. They were still in custody last night.
Their arrests followed the appearance of a well-known figure from the Real IRA at a protest against the Queen’s visit in Dublin city centre on Wednesday night.
That man is a brother of the Real IRA suspect arrested outside Connolly Station last night. They are from north Dublin and are embroiled in a feud with gangland criminals from whom they have extorted money.
Last night gardaí put in place another major security operation around the event in the convention centre hosted by the British ambassador to Ireland, Julian King.
Most staff at the centre were given the night off and were replaced by staff drafted in by the British contingent especially for the occasion.
The Irish Times understands the decision to bring in new staff selected and vetted by the British was done for security reasons.
With more than 2,000 guests in attendance, the occasion was seen as a major security challenge.
Over the past week British police and other UK security agents maintained a presence at the convention centre, searching staff as they entered the building, sometimes with hand-held metal detectors.
The checks were put in place to minimise the risk of anything being hidden in the centre in the past few days that may have posed a security threat last night, such as explosive devices or firearms.
The Garda operation last night saw a large security cordon thrown around the centre, into which motorists and pedestrians were refused access.
Thousands of uniformed gardaí could be seen on the streets while gardaí dressed in riot gear along with other specialist units were on standby.
The Garda Water Unit also patrolled the river Liffey as the Garda helicopter and Garda fixed-wing surveillance aircraft took to city skies.