A MAN has been jailed after an incident in which pipe bombs were left at a GAA ground in Belfast.
John Wilson, 59, from East Belfast was found guilty in September of three counts of attempted intimidation and one count of possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances.
The convictions relate to devices left on vehicles parked on Church Road in Belfast, the location of the Henry Jones Playing Fields, home of East Belfast GAA.
At Laganside Crown Court today, Wilson was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, with half of his sentence to be served on licence.
“There is no place in our society for any action motivated by hate,” said Detective Sergeant McVeagh of the PSNI.
Crude pipe bombs
The convictions relate to an incident that occurred on August 5, 2020, a few months after East Belfast GAA was founded and began training at the Henry Jones Playing Fields.
During a club training session at the complex, police received a 999 call from a public phone box alleging that four pipe bombs had been left at the site.
Searches were undertaken but nothing was found, however, three vehicle owners contacted police to say that they had found suspicious objects on their vehicles after returning from training.
One of the objects was a screwdriver, while forensic testing established that the other two were crude pipe bombs.
“In all cases, those who had the objects left on their vehicles felt intimidated and that this was an attempt to stop the team training at the playing fields,” said DS McVeagh.
‘Sectarian messages’
Wilson was arrested on August 6 after CCTV footage showed him entering the phone box from which the call about the pipe bombs was made.
Despite this, he denied that he had made the call and instead claimed he was on his way to a local takeaway.
Wilson continued to deny any involvement until much later, when he changed his story to say that he had made the phone call but did so under threat from people he feared might harm his family.
He continued to claim that he had not left the objects on the vehicles.
“Examination of Wilson’s phone uncovered incriminating and sectarian messages,” said DS McVeagh.
He added: “Had these pipe bombs exploded, they could have caused significant damage — not to mention injury, or worse.
“Substantial disruption was caused in the community and the victims were left shaken and scared when all they were doing was taking part in a sporting activity they loved.
“No-one should be left in fear when going about their lives.”
Since East Belfast GAA begin using the council-owned playing fields, the site has been the target of several attacks and security alerts.