Explosives found in Kerry home were too dangerous to handle, court is told

“Hobbyist” explosive manufacturer Ivan Gilder of Gearha North, Blackwater, Sneem, was aware of how dangerous the substances he made from household items were but was “blithely unaware” of how unlawful, his counsel told the sentencing hearing at Killarney Courthouse.

Mr Gilder (63) had pleaded guilty to seven charges at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee in November, including manufacturing explosives and having firearms and ammunition at his home near Sneem in March 2021. The offences are under the Offences Against the State and the Criminal Justice Acts.

Five of the seven offences Ivan Gilder admitted to at his home at Gearha North on March 27, 2021, are under Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1883, as amended by Section 15 (4) of the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998.

They include making an explosive substance, namely a white crystalline powder containing Erythritol Tetranitrate (ETN) ‘under such circumstances as to give rise to the reasonable suspicion that he did not make it for a lawful object’, according to the charge.

Tom Rice, counsel for the DPP, prosecuting, said how a second accused man, Thomas Albright (34), son of Mr Gilder, had pleaded guilty to two lesser offences – possession of a firearm without a licence and possession of ammunition.

Evidence of the facts was called by Mr Rice. In March 2021, gardaí in Dublin became aware through confidential information of activity in south Kerry. A combined operation of defence forces, local gardaí as well as gardaí from the ballistics unit and from the Garda Special Detective Unit went to a remote area around eight miles from Sneem as well as to a house at Ardeen, Sneem, Mr Rice outlined..

Detective Garda Shay O’Donnell of the Garda Ballistics Section in Garda HQ and who has 18 years experience in ballistics and improvised explosive devices, was part of the search team to arrive at the remote residence of Ian Gilder on March 27, 2021.

Ian Gilder was living in makeshift accommodation – an adapted horsebox without services or electricity with access via an untarred road, the garda agreed with Mr Rice.

A native of the UK, he had moved to Kerry in the 1980s and worked as a labourer. He was the sole occupant of the horsebox house. In a locker close to the bed in the small bedroom, there were firearms and ammunition. The guns, including a rifle and an ‘over-and-under’ shotgun, were not loaded.

“Gilder agreed there were dangerous substances present and he showed us items of interest,” Det Garda O’Donnell said. “These included tall glass containers and several packages with explosive ETN and another high explosive as well as a lower grade black powder explosive.”

He was manufacturing them on site, the court heard.

The ingredients were available on the internet as well as in household products and hardware stores, the garda told Judge Sinéad Behan, and added that Mr Gilder was mixing and boiling them.

Some 200 grammes of ETN were stored in the kitchen, enough to make two car bombs causing serious injury to occupants, as evidenced in Northern Ireland, the court heard.

There was also a peroxide-based explosive which was “very dangerous to handle” and so could not be weighted but estimated at about 100 grammes.

‘Yes, it’s a dangerous amount,” Garda O’Donnell replied, when questioned by Judge Behan.

Peroxide explosives were “a relatively new phenomenon” and were widely used in Islamic terrorism Det Garda O’Donnell said. They would explode on shock, such as on impact with the ground. ETN was more stable and required a detonator.

Other items at Gearha North included home-made initiators and pipe bomb casing. The guns recovered were all hunting types and had been used for target practice, the court was told.

Det Garda O’Donnell agreed with Elizabeth Murphy, counsel for Mr Gilder, cross-examining, that ordinary household items such as bleach were being turned into explosives.

Her client was not contesting the fact that he was manufacturing explosives, his father was in the explosive division of the British army and Mr Gilder was a hobbyist, she said.

Det Sergeant Ronan Judge of the Special Detective Unit (SDU), said gardaí do not believe Mr Gilder was in contact or had any connection with any criminal or political organisation.

Gardaí believed he was acting on his own. He had admitted the items in his son’s house were belonging to Mr Gilder and Gardai accepted this. .

Mr Gilder claimed he was living in fear arising from the suspected murder in 1991 of English man Brook Pickard in south Kerry, as well as from the treatment of the Sioux nation in America, Det Judge agreed with Mr Rice, agreeing also that “Gardai allowed him to express his views” in interviews.

He had used the explosives to get rid of rats in ditches and for fishing, he told detectives. There was no evidence he was making money from the manufacture.

There were no previous convictions of relevance. Mr Gilder had two minor convictions including for intoxication in a public place in Ireland; 35 convictions between 1977 and 2007 in the UK were for burglary, assault, unauthorised taking of a vehicle and motoring offences, Det Sgt Ronan outlined for Mr Rice.

Ivan Gilder also pleaded guilty to having in his possession an explosive substance namely black crystalline powder known as ‘black powder’. Mr Gilder has also admitted to having in his possession an explosive substance, a pipe bomb. He further pleaded guilty to having in his possession an explosive substance namely a radio-controlled, multi-channel pyrotechnic initiator and control transmitter which he had made or manufactured.

He further admitted to having an explosive substance which he had manufactured and was described as ‘an improvised electric match’.

Ivan Gilder also admitted to possessing a firearm, a 12-gauge Lamber make shotgun, as well as to having 367 rounds of .22 calibre ammunition and 86 shotgun cartridges, in suspicious circumstances. These two counts are contrary to Section 27 of the Firearms Act, 1964, as substituted by Section 59 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006 as amended by Section 38 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007

His counsel, Elizabeth Murphy, said her client wished to express his regret to the army and gardaí for exposing them to danger. He suffered from a number of medical conditions, physical as well as mental.

She said his father was in the explosives division of the British army and her client was a hobbyist

“While he was aware of how dangerous it was, he was blithely unaware how unlawful it was,” she said.

“He lives in this island of explosives,” Ms Murphy added.

Judge Sinéad Behan said she had a number of concerns in relation to Mr Gilder and would not finalise sentence until she had both a psychiatric and probation office report. This was for his own needs and for the protection of society. She was also concerned about his living conditions without services in a remote area. She adjourned the matter and remanded Mr Gilder in custody, ordering medical and psychiatric attention.

She finalised sentencing on his son, Thomas Albrighton, who in November had pleaded guilty at Tralee Circuit Court to possession of ammunition at Ardeen, Sneem on March 27, 2021, including 271 rounds of .22 ammunition and nine 12 gauge shotgun cartridges. Mr Albrighton also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, a .22 calibre ‘Marlin’ rifle which was not authorised by a Firearms Certificate.

Thomas Albrighton was very vulnerable, his counsel Katie O’Connell submitted. Now a father of three children of tender age, he had been in foster care until he was aged 16; He had made contact with his father, only in September 2020 when he came to south Kerry to look after him. He was now estranged from him and back living with his mother in Wales. He was involved in his church and worked as a roofer and his employer was in court.

“These are very serious offences,” Judge Behan said of both counts but added that when “peeling back the layers”, Thomas Albrighton was in a different situation to his father and was co-operative.

The court heard, though, that ammunition and a rifle had been found in a bedroom, a place of residence to which children and others had access.

Morally, Mr Albrighton’s culpability was at the lower end and this was a complex case and he had his own vulnerability, the court further heard.

Mr Albrighton was described as a man of good character and his employer had travelled from Wales.

Judge Behan imposed a two-year sentence, suspending it fully for a period of three years.

Mr Rice said he would be seeking a destruction order for the gun and ammunition at the finalisation of Mr Gilder’s case.