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THE CASE I CAN’T FORGET ***New Series***

TCICF THE QUEEN pipe bomb and weapons seized Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN pipe bomb and weapons seized
TCICF THE QUEEN pipe bomb 1 Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN pipe bomb 1
TCICF THE QUEEN Detective Chief Superintendent (ret) Kevin Donohue Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN Detective Chief Superintendent (ret) Kevin Donohue
TCICF THE QUEEN bus bomb Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN bus bomb
TCICF THE QUEEN Asst Commissioner Retired Pat Leahy 2 Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN Asst Commissioner Retired Pat Leahy 2
TCICF THE QUEEN Asst Commissioner Retired Pat Leahy 1 Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN Asst Commissioner Retired Pat Leahy 1
TCICF THE QUEEN Asst Commissioner (ret) Mick Feehan Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN Asst Commissioner (ret) Mick Feehan
TCICF THE QUEEN Asst Commissioner (ret) Feehan Centre Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN Asst Commissioner (ret) Feehan Centre
TCICF THE QUEEN Anti royal visit protests 5 Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN Anti royal visit protests 5
TCICF THE QUEEN Anti royal visit protests 4 Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN Anti royal visit protests 4
TCICF THE QUEEN Anti royal visit protests 3 Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN Anti royal visit protests 3
TCICF THE QUEEN Anti royal visit protests 2 Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN Anti royal visit protests 2
TCICF THE QUEEN anti royal visit protests 1 Image Name: TCICF THE QUEEN anti royal visit protests 1

The Threat To Kill The Queen

Now, for the first time, detectives and senior Gardai tell the inside story of the biggest policing operation the state had ever seen, in The Threat to Kill the Queen, the first in the new season of RTE’s hit true crime format, The Case I Can’t Forget.

In 2011, Queen Elizabeth II became the first ruling British monarch to visit Ireland in the history of the state. Over three days in May that year, the Queen astonished the country, first by laying a wreath to those who lost their lives in the fight for Irish Independence, then by formally expressing in a landmark speech her regret at the darkest periods of Britain and Ireland’s shared history, before finally making an unscheduled walkabout to meet and shake hands with the public outside the English Market in Cork City.

The visit went down as a triumph in diplomacy and is credited with helping to diminish many of the tensions in British and Irish relations. But history could have been very different.

While these remarkable events unfolded, three senior Gardai were facing the biggest challenge of their careers.

For Assistant Commissioner (ret) Pat Leahy it began in March when he received news of the intended visit. He had just nine weeks to secure every building, rooftop, rubbish bin and manhole cover along the Queen’s route around Dublin city, which would take her past the GPO on her way to the Garden of Remembrance.

“These were the meccas of republicanism and there was sure to be a response. It was nightmare stuff for policing. But if it was your area that failed, well, that would have been a career ending move,” Pat recalls.

Such were the stakes, then, as the Queen began her first engagement – a momentous wreath laying ceremony at the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square. As the formalities unfolded, Pat was faced with containing violent riots just a few hundred metres away on Dorset Street, where fireworks and live ammunition rained down on Gardai.  

But it was not just the rioters who posed a threat to the Queen.  There was also a bomber on the loose.

“Threats around improvised devices, I would say, were like snuff at awake,” remembers Assistant Commissioner (ret) Mick Feehan.

Many of these threats were designed simply to exhaust Garda resources.

“Every one of these threats had to be investigated, every single piece oof intelligence had to be chased down. We had to accept every threat as being credible until we decided it was not,” says Pat Leahy.

But when a viable improvised explosive device was found on a bus heading for Dublin, Garda intelligence revealed a capable lone wolf operator who indeed posed a real and credible threat to the safety of the Royal party.

“This is the type of person we fear in protection operations. Loan wolves are hard people to detect,” says the man responsible for the Queen’s safety, Detective Chief Superintendent (ret) Kevin Donohue.

Just days later, both Kevin and Mick had to face that fear head on. As dignitaries gathered in Dublin Castle for a state banquet in honour of the Queen, the bus bomber contacted gardai directly. He told them had planted two bombs at Dublin Castle.

With the Queen rising to make her historic speech to address the wrongs of the past at Dublin Castle, Kevin and Mick faced the biggest decision of their careers: whether to interrupt the Queen and evacuate the Royal party from the most important diplomatic event in the history of the state. 

Meanwhile, 300 metres away, at Christchurch, Pat Leahy faced another violent protest. A 700 strong crowd had gathered among whom were known republican dissidents. Ball bearings, ammunition and other projectiles could be seen being handed out amongst the protesters. It was clear serious violence was about to break out.  Pat needed to act quickly and decisively.

Back at the Castle, Mick and Kevin had just moments to weigh up the risks to letting the Queen make her speech. Evacuation would mean national embarrassment. Doing nothing could mean loss of life.

As Kevin puts it, “It’s the last place that you need to panic.”

The episode also features contributions from journalist Lise Hand and ex-BBC Royal Correspondent Peter Hunt, both of whom were part of the press corps that accompanied the royal tour visit, and from TCD historian Professor Jane Ohlmeyer.

The Case I Can’t Forget is a co-production for RTE by Rare TV Ireland Ltd and Green Inc Film and TV Ltd.