IRA man who blew a hole in a court room

JIM ‘Mortar’ Monaghan was born in Donegal in 1945. When his son Dónal was born in 1992 he was living in St Teresa’s Gardens, Dublin 8, having spent time in prison here and in Britain.

Monaghan and his son’s mother, Christina Ní Choisdealbha, were not married and as a result their son was given his mother’s surname.

When Ó Coisdealbha was charged with membership of an illegal organisation in 2015, Monaghan sat quietly in the Special Criminal Court. History was repeating itself.

Thirty years earlier he appeared on his own explosive charges, but at that time he didn’t sit as quietly.

In fact, he and four others blew a hole in the court and made a spectacular escape. He was later re-arrested.

Monaghan had been a republican since the 1960s. He went to England in 1970 and taught himself how to make bombs. He was later jailed for three years.

Returning to Ireland, he went on the run in 1975 after a raid on an IRA bomb factory in Donabate, Dublin.

He was arrested the following year at another IRA explosives factory in Athy, Co. Kildare, and sentenced to 11 years.

It was during that trial that he made his daring escape.

In 2001, Monaghan and two others were arrested in Bogota, Colombia on suspicion of training the Farc.

Released on bail, they later fled Colombia and returned to Ireland, where he remains.