Proxy Bomb Attack on Lurgan Police Station Prompts Warning Over Dissident Republican Threat

A delivery driver was ordered at gunpoint to transport a live bomb to Lurgan Police Station in Co Armagh, in an attack that PSNI officials assessed as highly likely the work of dissident republicans and that drew swift cross-party condemnation across Northern Ireland.

Two men stopped the driver on the night of Monday 30 March, forced him to place a "crude but viable" improvised explosive device in the boot of his white Audi A4, and told him he would be killed if he did not drive it to the station. On arrival, the driver escaped and alerted security staff. PSNI Ammunition Technical Officers subsequently carried out a controlled explosion on the device.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson confirmed at a press conference in Lurgan that it was "highly likely" the attack was the work of dissident republicans, noting that multiple factions are known to maintain a presence in north Armagh. Adding to concerns about security protocols, the device had been driven past an empty security post and through an open gate into the station compound before being neutralised.

Justice Minister Naomi Long, who has led the Department of Justice since January 2020 following the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly, warned that the groups responsible still possessed both the means and the motivation to strike. "Obviously it's grim that when we think in 2026 that this is the type of activity that some people want to try and engage in," she said, describing the incident as "a shameful and dangerous attack that has put lives at risk and caused disruption and upset to the local community." Long, who also leads the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, added there was "absolutely no place for this utterly reckless and abhorrent behaviour."

Condemnation came quickly from across the political spectrum. First Minister Michelle O'Neill said those responsible "have nothing to offer our communities" and that there is "no place for this in NI." Upper Bann DUP MP Carla Lockhart called it "a very serious incident" and confirmed her understanding that dissident republicans were behind it. "Lurgan has moved on and sadly there's a small nucleus of people who want to agitate and drag it back," Lockhart said. Sinn Féin MLA John O'Dowd described the attack as "not wanted," noting it had caused "widespread disruption" that impacted local businesses.

The attack arrives against a backdrop of persistent dissident republican activity. According to PSNI figures cited by Long in a November 2025 ministerial statement, there were 2,630 assaults on police between October 2024 and September 2025. PSNI security statistics also recorded 23 casualties from paramilitary-style assaults in the 12 months to November 2025, up from 20 the previous period. The current threat level from dissident republican attacks in Northern Ireland is assessed as SUBSTANTIAL, meaning an attack is considered a strong possibility.

The north Armagh area is known to security services as territory where multiple dissident republican factions maintain a foothold, among them the New IRA, formed in 2012 following the merger of the Real IRA, the Derry-based Republican Action Against Drugs, and other previously non-aligned dissident groups. Long warned that despite their limited numbers, those involved remain "wedded" to destruction and still retain the capacity to endanger lives.