Two brothers were given lengthy jail sentences by the Special Criminal Court in Dublin for running a "state-of-the-art" bomb making factory on behalf of the so-called Real IRA.
Alan Patterson was jailed for nine years and his twin brother, Kenneth, was jailed for seven years.
Mr Justice Richard Johnson, presiding, said they had been in possession of "a state-of-the-art, up to the minute bomb making factory with the latest developments in time and power units."
The twin brothers Kenneth Patterson (31) a former Irish soldier and Alan Patterson,(31) both of Griffith Parade, Finglas, Dublin, pleaded guilty last Friday to the unlawful possession of explosive substances in Dublin and at, or near, McEntee Avenue, Dundalk, on June 9th, 2001.
Alan Patterson also pleaded guilty to additional charges of unlawful possession of three quarters of a kilo of Semtex explosive, an air pistol and a quantity of ammunition at Marmion Court, Dublin, on the same date.
The court heard that the brothers had been running "workshops for the development" of bomb components on behalf of the Real IRA.
These consisted of home made timing units for bombs and improvised incendiary devices, ballistics expert Det Sgt Brendan McArdle told the court.
Det Sgt McArdle said in his opinion, the way in which the timing units were assembled suggested they may have been used for "demonstration or training purposes." Their discovery was significant "in the circumstances of this find," he added.
The Pattersons were arrested during a garda surveillance operation into the group known as the Real IRA, and in particular into its bomb-making capacity, the court was told. They were arrested as they left Dundalk Railway Station by car on June 9th.
The court heard that nine time and power units found at Marmion Court were "mark 19" - an updated and improved version of previous units. The first time that the gardai saw mark 19 units was "in a bomb in Hackballscross in 1998", Detective Superintendent Peter Maguire of the Special Detective Unit said.