Russian spy ring: Irish passport 'used in alleged conspiracy'

County Donegal fireman who holidayed in Moscow in 2005 dragged into case of alleged Russian spies

• Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent
• guardian.co.uk,
• Monday 5 July 2010 14.49 BST
• Article history

In a courtroom sketch from their New York bail hearing last week, Richard Murphy, second from left, is flanked by three other alleged conspirators in the Russian spy case. Photograph: Elizabeth Williams/AP

An Irish fireman has found himself at the centre of the Russian spy scandal in the United States after his passport details were apparently used by one of the alleged spies.

Eunan Gerard Doherty, from Ballyloskey, Carndonagh, County Donegal, has said he has yet to be told if his passport or a copy of it was used by Richard Murphy. Murphy was arrested in New Jersey last week, along with his wife, and both have been accused of being Russian spies.

Doherty declined to comment on the revelations yesterday but confirmed he has previously travelled to Moscow on holiday. Irish police sources confirmed that he had been interviewed about his passport.

Doherty said: "I am not making any comment. I am waiting to have a meeting tomorrow. I have a lot of questions that need to be answered."

It is understood that before Doherty travelled to Moscow in 2005, his passport was sent to the Russian embassy in Dublin to get a holiday visa.

The revelation that an Irish passport was used in the alleged conspiracy comes months after Israeli secret agents used Irish passports to enter Dubai and carry out a murder.

In the Russian spy case, Murphy is alleged to have collected an Irish passport in Doherty's name in Rome this year, and then used it to travel to Russia. The passport was described in court as an old "transit passport". Murphy was born in Philadelphia and lived in New Jersey.

Ten people have been arrested in the US and charged with carrying out deep-cover work to recruit political sources and gather information for the Russian government.

A spokesman for the department of foreign affairs in Dublin said it was seeking more information on the allegation.

Earlier, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said he was awaiting an explanation for the 10 arrests.

The US justice department said the suspects had been arrested following an investigation lasting several years. In documents, it states that in the spring of 2009, Richard and Cynthia Murphy were asked by Moscow for information relating to Barack Obama's trip to Russia that summer